Wrong Turn
by DreamlessRiver
Summary: After AC. After finding out that the three remnants have survived, Cloud takes a new path on his way home from searching for them. What he doesn't know is that at the end of that path, his enemies are waiting to take him down.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Final Fantasy. If I did I'd be rich and famous.

**Wrong Turn**

Cloud was on his way home to see Tifa at the Seventh Heaven. It had been a long day of trying to locate the three remnants, and he was just about ready to fall asleep on Fenrir.

He was taking the normal route, through the Sector Seven Slums, when suddenly; he noticed something out of the ordinary. A new path that had never been there before was suddenly there, just waiting to be taken.

"_Was that always there?" _Cloud Pondered. Maybe he had just been so focused on his ususal route that it never caught his eyes.

Letting his curiosity get the better of him; he decided to take that single, lonely, nothing-but-dirt with a few trees here and there path. As he was riding along, he was beginning to be more and more unsure of his decision.

"_Get a hold of yourself, Cloud. It's just a path." _Cloud kept reminding himself.

After about 10 minutes, Cloud found himself at a dead end. Nothing but rocks, a few patches of grass, dirt, and a lot of trees and bushes met his eyes. But that's only what he could see.

Turning off Fenrir, Cloud slipped off his bike to take a look around.

"_Maybe I missed something…" _The blond buster sword wielder took into account.

Walking up a little farther, he knew he was not supposed to be here. It was too obvious…Too open. That's when he heard the rustling of a bush behind him.

Pulling out his sword, Cloud turned around to find nothing. Nothing but a bush of course. But then the nerve-touching rustling of another bush came from beside him, just a little farther ahead. He turned to face it only to find:

"_Nothing? Maybe I've been working too hard." _He considered. That had to be it… right?

"_Hello, Big Brother…"_

Cloud went into shock. Slowly turning towards the rocky cliff where the sweet, yet horrifying voice came from, he looked up. The Blonde then saw something…or rather someone he wished he hadn't.

There, standing on top of the small cliff, was part of the calamity, the reason he'd been out searching for countless hours…the remnant of…_him._

Yazoo.

Cloud heard the sound of a gun being fired before his world turned black.

---

So Guys, what do you think? This is my first fic ever (and it was actually based off of a dream I had.) so go easy on me. Depending on my reviews, this may be more than one chapter. Flames are not tolerated (but i do allow _some_ criticism) and will be added to Red XIII's tail. The review button is just down there. Let me know what you guys think.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer**: I still don't own any part of Final Fantasy.

Thanks to all my reviewers again! didn't think i'd do that great, thanks for supporting me!

And also, special thanks to MateriaDreams for helping me out on how to upload new chapters! You rock, buddy!

And I'm sorry if there are any typos or anything...i kind of wrote this at 12:30am.

**Wrong Turn**

Chapter 2

Tifa had been waiting for what seemed like forever. Washing glass after glass, she was wondering and worrying where Cloud was. He should have been home by now, it was past midnight. What had been taking him so long?

"_Come on, Cloud. What's keeping you?" _Tifa thought.

She had been waiting outside for ages!

She waited outside for a little longer, and then she finally headed back inside the Seventh Heaven.

"_I could call him, but...Would he even answer his phone?"_

She didn't want to bother him while he was out driving, but…she was just too worried. The brunette decided to take the chance and call him. Heading over to the phone, Tifa Lockhart was just about to Dial the blonde's number, when it rang in her gentle grasp.

"_Maybe it's Cloud, beating me to it." _She wondered

Already holding the phone, she pressed talk, in hopes she would hear her blonde crush on the other line.

"Hello?" Tifa answered with her usual sweet tone.

"Hello…Tifa." The other person answered back.

Eyes bugging out, she couldn't believe her ears. The voice she had heard was definitely not Cloud's.

------

Cloud awoke with a sharp, agonizingly painful feeling in his right shoulder, and also a big headache. Yet he didn't understand why. The last thing he remembered was driving down that strange path and then…nothing…

Opening his eyes slowly, Cloud looked around, as well as he could with his blurred vision, to get a view of his surroundings.

It was a dark room, lit dimly with a small ceiling fixture. As his vision cleared, he also noticed a small wooden table with a few chairs around it, a fridge, and a worn-out couch. There was no carpet except for the rug in front of the couch, but that was worn-out as well. The rest of the room had a cold, unfinished floor.

He felt like he was kneeling…Why? He shouldn't be on the ground. He should be up; heading back to the Seventh Heaven…where was he anyways?

Cloud got up. Or rather, he _tried_ to. Something was holding him there. He looked behind him, as much as his shoulder cried in protest, and noticed his hands were tied to a pole.

"What the…?" Cloud said.

He struggled a little, trying to loosen his bonds, but it was hopeless. Whoever tied him there, really didn't want him getting away.

Finally deciding to take a look at his aching shoulder, the sword wielder looked down at where the intense pain had come from.

"_What…how did that happen?" _Strife wondered.

His shoulder had a fairly wide wound, and it was still bleeding. Whatever, or whoever, had done that to him had done a pretty bad number on his shoulder. He would have a hard time using his sword now, would he have to use it to defend himself. Now that he thought about it…

Looking over his shoulder again, careful not to open the wound anymore, he tried to see if his sword was still in its rightful place…

Just as he thought…It was gone.

"_Great…"_ he thought "_Now what am I supposed to do?"_

Almost out of nowhere, he heard somebody talking…but who? And…where?

It was coming closer now. Yes, the person was definitely approaching, and it made Cloud tense.

"If you do not do as you are told, Tifa…I'm afraid he will die. Now tell me where mother is!" The voice demanded. It sounded so familiar, but he just couldn't put a face to it.

"_Tifa?!" _What had Cloud gotten himself into? And why was that person threatening Tifa?

Cloud began to panic. He didn't know what to do, but he wanted to get out of this! Wait a second... "_I'm afraid_ _he will die..."_ was that person talking about him? They would have to be, everybody knows how close he and Tifa are!

The person who was giving death threats, and was most-likely also his captor, the blonde now realized, finally entered the room through a non-distinguishable curtain.

Medium-length silver hair, and a black leather outfit. And those eyes…so bright…so _beautiful._

Cloud's mako-blue eyes widened as he realized who it was. And just as he did, the person turned to face him.

Kadaj.

"He is awake…I will let you talk to him. If you say anything other than what I told you, I will kill him over the phone. Understand?" Kadaj told the brunette.

Cloud heard Tifa say something, probably agreeing to Kadaj's demand. The silver-haired man placed the cell phone onto cloud's ear.

"Cloud?" he heard her say

"Tifa!" The blonde called in worry

"Cloud! Are you okay?!" she asked with a great amount of fear showing in her voice.

"I'm fine. How about you? What's going on here?!" Cloud questioned her.

"H-he said he wants my help finding Jenova for the reunion…Kadaj thinks that because I know you really well, and that you helped Reno and the others find Jenova's parts, that I'd know where they are too! They didn't ask you because they knew you wouldn't cooperate, so they used you as a hostage towards me! Cloud…I…I don't know what to do! I don't want to lose you!" Tifa stated, and then began to cry.

"Tifa! Tifa listen to me! Everything's going to be okay! Just get out of here! Don't listen to them! And don't worry about me, I'll figure out a way out of this! Just leave town and get help! Call Vincent, Cid, anybody, just-" Before Cloud could finish he felt something like rough fabric go into his mouth, and then tighten at the back of his head.

He turned around to see who had placed the gag in his mouth.

Longer silver hair than Kadaj's, same type of outfit, only with a coat.

Yazoo, Cloud remembered.

Now he remembered why his shoulder hurt. He remembered the gun shot. Yazoo must have been the one that shot him, causing the wound in his shoulder.

He glared at Yazoo, but could do nothing else. He was their prisoner now, and he didn't want to do anything too risky just yet.

"Cloud? Cloud! Cloud answer me!" He heard Tifa call over the phone

His eyes widened again, and he turned his head to the phone, resulting in a stinging sensation running through his shoulder. He didn't care right now; he just wanted to talk to Tifa!

Kadaj took the phone away from Cloud's ear and placed it on his own.

"Meet me at the Northern Cave in one hour. Any later and you will never see Cloud again." Kadaj ordered.

Before Tifa could protest, the silver-haired man hung up the phone.

---

You know the drill, read and review! I want to know if i did I a good job on this chapter! C'mon, the lil' review button is going to get lonely!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I _still_ don't own any part of Final Fantasy.

**Wrong Turn**

Chapter 3

Cloud glared at Kadaj. He wasn't finished talking to Tifa! They had no right to be doing this to her, or even him for that matter! This entire captivity was an outrage! The blonde was sick of this already, and he had only regained consciousness for a few minutes now! He wanted out! He wanted to be free!

Kadaj walked away, ignoring Cloud's rude look and sat down on the couch. He had spent all night and day (it was after midnight) trying to put this plan to work and he needed to relax for awhile. It wouldn't take him long to get to the Northern Cave anyways. He laid back and closed his eyes. He would just rest them for a minute.

"Kadaj! Wake up! You are going to be late, brother!"

The silver-haired remnant awoke from his senselessness and looked at who was talking to him.

"Yazoo, what time is it?!" he asked him, panicked.

"You have fifteen minutes to meet that _girl_…back at the Northern Cave" He replied, in his naturally calm tone.

Kadaj jumped up, and looked at the clock. His brother was right! He had to hurry! But where were his keys?! The remnant started to look.

The blonde captive had been hoping that Kadaj would not wake up. He was hoping that he would miss the "appointment" with Tifa and she would head back to the bar, and stay out of this for that much longer. Now that Yazoo had woken him, Cloud had no way of stopping this. He looked over at Kadaj, who had just spotted his keys on the ground. He had to think fast!

Kadaj was starting to walk towards the exit now.

"_Think, Cloud, Think!" _Cloud mentally kicked himself for being so helpless.

Right then an idea struck him. As Kadaj walked by, Cloud managed to pull his legs out from under him and trip the sword wielder.

Kadaj got up, furious. He took out Souba and pointed it right at Cloud's throat.

"I should kill you right now…You're a worthless scum. We _know_ you have mother, and we're _going_ to get her…"

The blonde froze. He knew it was a bad idea to play his cards that way, and now he was going to pay for it. His glowing eyes looked frantically from Kadaj, back to the sword that was threatening his life. He didn't know what to do. What _could_ he do? He felt so pathetic…did he look as miserable as he felt? He wasn't sure.

Kadaj raised his sword ready to strike Cloud. He swung it. Cloud's eyes widened as it got closer. He felt like he was watching it in slow motion.

_Down…Down…Down…Closer and Closer…_

The blonde knew this was the end…he was going to join Zack and Aerith in the Lifestream. He closed his eyes, ready for the strike.

"Brother!" Loz called out

Kadaj stopped what he was doing to face his brother, who seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

"You'll be late if you deal with the runt. Leave him to us, brother!"

Kadaj looked from Loz back to his captive, then back at Cloud.

"Consider yourself lucky..." he growled.

And with that Kadaj left.

Cloud was somewhat relieved that he was gone, but also worried for many others.

For one thing, Cloud was worried about Tifa. How would she handle this? Can she deal with Kadaj? What if Kadaj hurts her, and nobody is around to help her?! Just the thought made him cringe. He should be there with her!

And now…

"_Leave him to us, brother!"_

Were they still going to kill him? Or were they just going to beat on him until he learns not to misbehave? He wished for neither, but he still wanted to live! He had a reason to live! Zack didn't give up his life for Cloud for him to just give up and die!

"_Zack…" _The name coursed through the blonde's head.

His thoughts were swept away when a swift punch hit him in the face, causing his head to fly back and hit the pole he was restrained to.

Stars were everywhere. He could not fall unconscious. he was not hit hard enough to fall senseless…but he was so dizzy!

Cloud winced at the pain and looked up at his attacker, as best he could, blood coming out of his nose

"Are we having fun, yet? Hm?" the long haired man asked him in a mocking tone before kicking him in the stomach.

Cloud doubled over as best he could in his position, but then he felt another blow on his jaw. He thought he heard a crack, or maybe he was just really out of it.

Another punch to his eye, leg, chest, and a few kicks, and Cloud was gasping for breath. He struggled as best he could in his bonds, but it really didn't help much. All it did was bring more pain to his wounded body. Throughout this entire beating session, Cloud managed not to cry out in pain. That's what they wanted from him.

He closed his eyes, trying to block out all the pain they had caused in his body.

Their footsteps were getting fainter...were they finally done? Would they leave him alone now?

He felt something connect with his ribs. He let out a muffled cry of pain. But…it was too strong to be a kick, and it wasn't a punch. What was that…?

Wearily, he looked down to where he felt the blow.

"_Nothing?"_ it felt like something was stabbing him. Odd.

"Maybe next time you'll be smart enough to cooperate, big brother." Yazoo said to him.

He bent down on his knees next to Cloud, and turned his head, forcing him to look right into Yazoo's cat eyes.

"After all…you don't want to go through that again…Do you?" he asked him in a sick tone.

Cloud just glared at him. If he was free right now he would be beating both him and his brothers to a pulp.

Yazoo released his grip on him and left. Loz following.

At least Cloud had some time on his own, finally. But it wasn't exactly peaceful.

He was in a lot of pain, and felt really weak. Not to mention hungry. He hadn't eaten in countless hours. And…Why did he feel so cold? He didn't feel like this a minute ago.

He felt the trickle of blood from his nose and realized he was still bleeding. He was bleeding on his shoulder still "_why won't it stop?_" , his nose, and he assumed the spot where it felt like he was being stabbed.

"_S-so..cold."_ was all he could think

He heard a knock on a door somewhere before blacking out.

….

"Cloud! Cloud! Can you hear me!?"

Somebody was calling his name. Where were they? They sounded so far away…

He opened his eyes, but everything was so blurry…

He made out two figures. One with red hair and the other bald…or at least…that's what it looked like. His vision was too fuzzy.

The red-head turned to face the bald person.

"Rude! Call a medic!" he heard him say

Then he heard somebody dialing a phone.

Now he was talking to Cloud again, and the blonde looked up at him.

"Hey…Stay with us buddy. We're getting you some help." The red one said

_Help? For what? He was fine, he didn't need help. He should be up. Not sitting on the ground still._

Cloud tried to get up, but felt something holding him down. Not rope…hands?

He struggled more, he wanted to get up!

"Rude, I need some help here!"

He felt the pressure on his shoulders being released, and then applied with slightly more force, but not too much as to hurt his wounded shoulder. He kept on struggling, but the hands were too strong.

The person holding him down called out to the other

"We may need to sedate him."

"It might mess him up more, though. We should leave it to the medics."

Cloud felt so dizzy and weak…why was he here? What was happening?

He was starting to have trouble breathing. Allergies, maybe? No…He didn't have any that he knew of.

After what felt like so long, Cloud heard sirens outside. Then he was being lifted. What was happening here?

"P-put...me d-…down" he said, or rather whispered. Why couldn't he talk properly?

Nobody was listening to him.

He tried to say it again, but wound up coughing. As he coughed he tasted something other than air in his mouth.

"Hey, he's coughing up blood!" he heard somebody who was carrying him yell. Why did they sound so distant if they were right with him?

The blonde felt himself being passed to other men, then laid onto something soft.

"_Soft?"_ Cloud pondered.

"He's losing oxygen _fast_!" somebody warned

Weakly, he turned his head to see what he was laying on.

"_A b-bed…?" _Cloud considered

Another person turned his head back and put some sort of mask over most of his face. He didn't want it there. He tried to take it off, but found that he couldn't move his hands.

Using one of the last bits of his energy, he looked to see what was wrong with him.

His hands weren't bound…was he too weak to move them? No…he couldn't be, he was fine.

"This kid's losing too much blood! Somebody get me an IV!"

_An...IV? why would he need an IV? They were just wasting their time on him. Other people need help, he was just fine!_

"Cloud! Hold on just a little longer!"

Those words of encouragement were the last he heard before senselessness overtook him.

….

Haha! Another Cliff hanger! (Yes, I am obsessed with those:P) so what did you guys think? Please read and review. And by the way, thanks to all my readers and reviewers! You guys rock! And please no flames, only constructive criticism.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey guys. I have another two chapters in my mind, but I'm not sure if I can update them both by today. I'm getting two needles later so I figured I should give you at least one chapter while I can still use my right arm. Thanks to all my reviewers! I'm glad you like my fanfic! Anyways, on with the story.

**Please note that this is what happened with Reno and Rude before they go to save Cloud and a bit after.**

…..

Disclaimer: I _still_ don't own any part of Final Fantasy. Why can't _I _own Cloud?

**Wrong Turn**

Chapter 4

Reno and Rude were hanging out at the Healin lodge. It was a normal day, with the usual paperwork and all, and a mission or two. The day normally passed by quickly, but they ware about to find out that it'd be a long night.

"Hey." Reno said to Rude "Think anything exciting will happen tonight, partner?"

Rude looked up from his desk and stared at the red-head. Reno could tell he didn't want to talk, but he was just too damn bored with all the paperwork to keep quiet. How does Rude do it?

"Reno, its 12:30 am." Rude bluntly stated, and then went right back to his paperwork

"Wow, way to take the fun right out of it." The bald Turk just ignored him and kept on writing.

Now, normally Reno's very committed to doing his work, as boring as it is sometimes. But today the red-head just couldn't take it. It was so damn mind-numbingly dull. Especially when you have silent man as your partner. He leaned back in his chair, putting his feet on his desk.

"_I wonder if…" _he started to think.

He briefly looked at the clock, double-checking what time it was.

" _12:33…can't the clock move any faster? I don't want to stay here for another two hours!" Reno thought to himself_

_Tick…tock…Tick…tock_

Felling like he was about to get cabin fever, Reno jumped up and yelled:

"Why in the hell isn't there anything interesting to do in here?!!"

Rude dropped his pen and looked up at him shock. Even from behind his sunglasses, you could tell his eyes had widened.

"Come on, partner, we're clockin' out early!"

Reno rushed over to his desk and grabbed him by his arm and hauled his ass out of that damned building before he could protest.

"Reno!" he cried as he was dragged over to the car by Reno.

Reno got there and let him go, but he still wasn't convinced his work-obsessed friend was going to come with him.

"Do you really want to go back in there?" Reno asked him, his voice surprisingly serious

Rude didn't reply but simply looked at him. Reno could tell he was hesitating to answer his question.

"Come on, let's play hooky for a while. Let's just grab a few drinks for tonight, relax a little. What do you say?"

Rude sighed and looked back at the Healin. Was he giving in?

"_Come on, Rude, say yes."_ Reno hoped to himself

The bald-headed man looked at his friend, and took off his sunglasses.

"You'll take the blame for this?"

"_Yes! He's going to do it!" Reno cheered in his head_

"Sure…Anything for you, partner." He told him, while a smirk plastered itself on his face.

Rude cocked his eyebrows at Reno briefly, not liking the look on his face. He put his sunglasses back on and opened the passenger's door of the car. Reno's smirk widened as he walked to the driver's side.

They were heading over to the Seventh Heaven to see Tifa and grab a few beers, when Reno's phone rang.

Reno's eyes widened when he heard the ringing of his cell phone in his pocket.

"Shit! I bet it's the boss!" He cursed.

It was too dark to check the caller I.D, so he pulled it out of his pocket and flipped it open, holding it up to his ear, while trying to drive at the same time. Luckily for himself and Rude, he had pretty much mastered this technique by now.

"Hello?" Reno asked hesitantly "Look, if it's about us, leaving, it was Rude's fault! He made me do it!" he told the person on the line, with his infamous smile on his face.

Rude, who was looking out the window, looked back at him, angry.

"Hey!" he exclaimed

"Reno…?" Somebody said through sobs over the phone

The red-head's smile died as he slowly realized who it was.

"Tifa?" he said calmly "You doing okay, there?"

"It…It's Cloud." She barely managed to say

"What? What's up with Cloud? He okay?"

"K-Kadaj…kidnapped him, Reno…I think th-they might kill him."

"Kadaj?!" Reno cried out in surprise, nearly dropping his phone. "I thought we took care of that asshole!"

"He's back, Reno…Please…can you go find him? I don't know what to do this time…I'm scared." Tifa sniffed

Reno Sighed "I'll see what we can do. We'll call you as soon as we figure out what's going on."

"Thanks, Reno…I appreciate it." The brunette thanked the red-headed Turk.

"Anytime, doll face." Reno replied.

And with that, they hung up their phones.

"What's going on?" Rude asked.

Reno looked over to him and said six words that explained the whole conversation.

"Rescue Mission. You up for it?"

Rude looked hesitant for a second, but then nodded.

…..

They had decided to track Cloud through the tracking device they placed on Fenrir when he wasn't looking to keep track of him when they needed to find him. And man, did they need to find him.

After what seemed like forever, they found his tracks, leading to a deserted-looking path, all except for the single line of where Cloud drove.

"It should be just down there." Rude said, pointing.

Reno nodded and drove down the dirt road.

When they got to the dead-end and pulled out their flashlights. They looked around and they found Fenrir. _Only _Fenrir.

"Why would Cloud leave his bike, man?" Reno asked a rhetorical question.

He looked around and saw nothing else out of the ordinary. But Rude on the other hand was hot on the trail.

"Look." He said, pointing his flashlight to the ground

Reno turned to face him, and looked to where his friend was pointing.

The dirt that the light shone upon looked more spread-out and trampled on than anywhere else. And was that blood?

"Cloud must have been attacked, yo. Man, I feel bad for him." The one with the long ponytail said

Rude Just nodded.

As Reno looked around more carefully on the ground, he noticed something else out of the ordinary. Three more bike tracks.

"Hey, Rude. Look at this!" he called out to his partner

The bald one came over and took a look at what his friend was trying to show him.

"Kadaj?" he asked.

"Definitely." Reno replied bluntly.

Knowing that their car would make too much noise and might attract _unwanted people_, they decided to follow the tracks on foot.

…..

After about 45-minutes of walking, they finally reached the ends of the tracks, making them stop at an old, beaten-up house.

"This has got to be it. The bad guys always have their lairs in places like this. Just like in all of the creepy cop movies" Reno stated, proud to know this fact.

"You watch too many movies, Reno." Rude stated matter-of-factly.

"Prove it." He retorted back to him

They went over to the front door and tried to open it, but found it locked.

"Well that was no surprise." Rude said to his read-head friend who had just tried to walk right in.

Reno just glared at him.

Rude, being the more polite one knocked on the door.

"What the hell are you doing, man?! You can't just knock on the door! I've seen this in a movie once, y-" Reno started but was interrupted

"Reno?" Rude asked him.

"What?" he asked back.

"Shut up." He commanded, without even looking at him the entire conversation

Reno growled at him, but did as he was told.

After waiting for a bit longer and finding nobody to come answer the door, Rude decided to kick it down, and walked inside, with his partner following behind him.

They heard somebody running up the stairs and quickly hid in the shadows.

The man that showed up had long silver hair. Reno recognized that man, and hated him so much more every time he laid eyes on him.

Yazoo looked around and saw nobody, but noticed the door completely off of its hinges. He walked over to it and looked outside, trying to see if whoever had done that damage was still there.

Rude took this as a time to strike.

The bald-headed Turk crept up behind Yazoo, making sure not to make too much noise. When he was close enough he put a hand over Yazoo's mouth, causing him to start struggling. Rude, being the stronger one just held him there and took out a syringe from his inside coat pocket.

Reno came out of the shadows and stood in front of Yazoo, who was too busy struggling to notice him.

"Long time, no see." Reno stated to him.

The long-haired man stopped to look at who was talking to him. He recognized that voice. When he saw who it was, his eyes widened in fear, as well as anger. He was about to try to get away again, but he felt a prick in his neck. Rude has injected the sedative into him. Yazoo's eyes slowly got less and less focused, until they rolled into the back of his head, confirming his unconsciousness. Rude laid him on the ground and went down the stairs, with Reno tagging along.

The other one was down there, looking down at something on the ground, with his back facing to them. Reno went over to him and put him into the sleeper hold. Once he was unconscious, he laid him on the ground and realized what he was staring at.

Not only was Cloud unconscious, but he was sickly pale, almost completely white, with a pool of blood around him. His arms were bound behind his back and were tied to a pole, along with a gag in his mouth. He had a seriously black eye and a wounded shoulder. From what the two could guess, those were the only _visible _injuries. In the condition that he was in, he must have more minor and critical ones that were hidden as well.

Quickly getting to work, Reno started by untying him and taking the gag out of his mouth. He laid him down on the ground and started to call out his name.

"Cloud! Cloud! Can you hear me!?" he cried to him. Rude knelt next to them, a bit back as to not get too involved. Reno knew what he was doing.

The blonde slowly opened his eyes, but instead of sharp, glowing blue ones, they were dull and unfocused. This was not good.

He looked back at Rude with concern.

"Rude, call a medic!"

Rude nodded and pulled out his phone. He proceeded to dial 9-1-1

Reno turned his head back to Cloud, and saw that he was looking up at him.

"Hey…Stay with us buddy. We're getting you some help." He told him

Cloud looked somewhat confused, but that was probably from all of the blood loss. Suddenly, he was struggling to get up. Reno immediately held him down. If he got up, it would make him lose that much more blood, and he was in no condition to stand to begin with. If he had a broken rib (which Reno thought quite possible) then it might make it worse.

The blonde was stronger than he thought he would be. He didn't want to let his blonde friend get any more hurt than he was. He needed somebody stronger to hold him down.

"Rude, I need some help here!" He called out to him

Rude, who had finished being on the phone and had an ambulance on its way, came over and went down on his knees next to Cloud. Reno let go. Rude took into account that the way Cloud was acting could seriously hurt him.

"We may need to sedate him." He told Reno

"It might mess him up more, though." Reno added "We should leave it to the medics."

Suddenly, he realized the blonde was wheezing. Was it from when he had been trying to escape? No, Cloud wouldn't wheeze from that. At least, not that much. Had something damaged his lungs? Reno hoped not.

They heard sirens outside of the ruined building. Wanting to help Cloud as soon as possible, They lifted him up, Reno holding his legs, and Rude his shoulders. Carefully, but quickly, they began to take him outside to the paramedics

"P-put...me d-…down" they heard Cloud whisper.

"_Sorry, pal…no can do." _Reno thought

Cloud opened his mouth to say something, but coughed instead. As he coughed, blood began to come out. Luckily they were outside by now. Too bad it was raining.

"Hey, he's coughing up blood!" Reno called to the paramedics

Two paramedics came over to them and took the blonde and placed him on a stretcher.

"He's losing oxygen _fast_!" One of the paramedics cried out

Cloud was trying to look around where he was, as best as his weak body could. His eyes were still so unfocused…

Somebody turned his head back so it was straight up and placed an oxygen mask over him. Reno and Rude could tell Cloud didn't want it there. Poor guy was too weak to even protest…but at least he was breathing better, if only barely.

"This kid's losing too much blood! Somebody get me an IV!" The other paramedic called out to his co-workers.

"Cloud! Hold on just a little longer!"

As Reno said those words of encouragement, he saw Cloud fall unconscious. The paramedics placed Cloud into the ambulance, and Reno and Rude went in along with them. They did not want to leave Cloud alone in this condition. At least Reno didn't.

Reno pulled out his phone, and decided to call Tifa. She would want to know about Cloud.

…..

I know, I know…another cliff hanger. But I have an idea for the next one, so it might be up later, depending on how much I get done tonight. Read and Review, and remember flames are not tolerated!


	5. Chapter 5

Hey, guys. My arms hurt! Two needles in one day and having to do yoga right after isn't the best thing in the world. Oh, well it always relaxes me. Anyways, here's another chapter of my story. Thanks for sticking by me, guys!

**Please note that this is back to focusing on Cloud from now on unless told otherwise.**

Disclaimer: STILL don't own Final Fantasy

…..

**Wrong Turn**

Chapter 5

The sound of a beep was what he became aware of first. And it wasn't a pleasant beeping noise. It was always the same rhythmic sound, over and over again. And he wasn't kneeling anymore. No, he was lying down, and his hands weren't bound. Why? Had somebody saved him, or was this just some trick to throw him off? He was on a more comfortable surface, but he was in so much pain. And why did it feel like something was on his face?

Wanting to get a look at his surroundings, Cloud slowly opened his eyes. His vision was blurry, but what he saw was unexpected. Instead of the dark, eerie and uncomfortable room he was in before, he was in somewhere with beige walls, and a lot of machines around him. He saw somebody looking down at him. As his vision cleared, he noticed that the person had red hair and goggles on his head.

"Hey, buddy. Thought you'd never wake up. How you feeling?" Reno said in a calm and quiet tone

Cloud wanted to say "Like shit." but his voice wouldn't cooperate.

"Can't talk, yet, huh? I'm not surprised; you were half dead when we found you. I'm surprised you even pulled through." The Turk told him.

Strife gave Reno a confused look, and Reno frowned, probably remembering when he had found him.

"Well…Tifa called me and told me you were kidnapped by Kadaj and his gang. Don't know how they survived, but they did. Anyways, when me and Rude went out to look for you, we found the trail leading to the house. We found the path by tracking your-…well never mind that- we found you tied up in some wrecked shacks's basement. You were seriously messed up and had bruises all over you, and you were practically swimming in your own blood, man. We brought you to the hospital, but we didn't know if you'd pull through okay, yo."

Cloud looked shocked. At least, as shocked as he could be in his condition.

"W-what's wrong…with me?" Cloud managed to whisper, even though his jaw throbbed. His question sounded slightly echoed through the oxygen mask, but Reno understood.

"Well…You have a few broken ribs, and they damaged your lungs pretty bad, which is why you have the oxygen mask. You got yourself a really bruised right eye and some other bruises and cuts on your body, but they're all bandaged now. You also had a really wounded shoulder. I guess Yazoo shot you. Oh, and you also had some internal bleeding, but they managed to stop it. Wasn't easy though. And your jaw was slightly dislocated, but they managed to fix that up.I wouldn't talk too much, though. Guess that's easy for you right?" Reno couldn't help but laugh at his own joke "And you also have a broken wrist from trying to break free of your bonds too much."

Cloud sighed. _Great…_

"Anyways." Reno started "Now, that you're awake, I'll go get the others. Only one person allowed in here, y'know. Tifa figured I should stay in here with ya because she can't stand to see you like this. She's been on my ass about how you're doing, so I'm guessing if I want to live, I should go tell her you're awake."

And with that, the red-head left.

After a few minutes of waiting, Cloud was just about to fall asleep, when he heard his hospital door open. He was relieved when he saw Tifa.

"Cloud!" She cried "I'm so glad you're okay!"

She went over to him and hugged him, gently but affectionately. As much as he wanted to, Cloud was too weak to return the hug. She smiled at him. But her smile faded as she remembered the news the doctors had told her.

"You're in rough shape, Cloud…._Really _rough shape. They say you can't leave here for at least a week, just to make sure nothing else is wrong and to make sure you're healing properly."

Cloud just gave her an upset look. Tifa wasn't at all surprised; she knows how much Cloud hates feeling helpless. But, like always, he's just going to have to put up with it.

_"Man, Cloud…You can be so stubborn sometimes…"_ Tifa thought

Her thoughts were lost when Yuffie came in through the door, holding a little teddy bear.

"Hey, Cloudie Cloud! How you doing?" She asked in a quiet, yet still hyper tone.

He just gave her a reassuring glance, still not really capable of saying that much.

The single white rose of Wutai came over to the blonde and placed the teddy bear on the small table next to his hospital bed. Cloud looked over at it, and surprisingly, liked the small plush.

After quite a few visits from his friends (Barret, Vincent, Reeve, Marlene and Denzel (Who had begged to come along after they heard about Cloud, because they weren't asleep when they should have been) etc.) Cloud was pretty well wiped of all his energy. He drowsily looked at the clock. 6:54 am. He looked out of the closed window, noticing the sun slowly rising, making the sky a red-orange shade, before his eyes fell shut, and finally allowed him into calm senselessness.

…..

When the blond awoke, it seemed to be darker in his room. He looked at the clock. 9:47 pm.

_Did I really sleep for that long? _Cloud pondered

Lazily, he turned his head to look out the open window.

_Wait…that wasn't opened before. And the doctors wouldn't open it without my permission… _Cloud confirmed in panic.

"Hello, big brother…" He heard a voice say.

He turned his head and looked right into the green cat eyes of Kadaj.

He wanted to attack him, but…

_"Why do you always have to be so vulnerable, Cloud?!" _He thought to himself.

Cloud saw Kadaj raise his sword before he saw darkness….and then a warm white light….who was that at the end of it?

"Cloud…I've been waiting for you."

_Aerith… _Cloud thought

She reached out her hand to him. Just as he was about to take it, something impaled his brunette friend. His froze in shock as her lifeless body collapsed onto the floor, revealing none other than Sephiroth as the murderer.

…..

Cloud awoke suddenly, thankful that he didn't fly up from the nightmare, as that would have caused a lot of problems for not only him, but the doctors as well. He looked out the thankfully closed window, and saw that the sun was still up, but just barely. He looked at the clock.

_"6:27pm…well I slept for awhile, but at least not as long as in my dream…"_ the blonde took into account.

Closing his eyes again, he hoped to get some more sleep. Hopefully some that didn't involve anymore nightmares like that.

_"Isn't heaven supposed to be a happy place?...That's where I was...wasn't I?" _Cloud thought about this for awhile before drifting off into sleep. He would not be disturbed for at least a few hours.


	6. Chapter 6

Happy holidays, guys! Sorry I took so long to update, I've been lost for ideas, and I still kind of am. Any suggestions would be nice. Thanks.

And by the way, **this chapter will not be short; it will be like the others. **I thought I might say that because most of the time when people take awhile to update they just give filler chapters. Well, ladies and gentlemen, not me! So be prepared for what I hope is another great chapter!

…I sound like a commercial. On with the story!

Disclaimer: I would love to own Final Fantasy, but, unfortunately, I don't. I want to own Cloud!

**Wrong Turn**

Chapter 6

"How could you let him get away?!" Kadaj scolded his brothers for being so careless

"I leave to help us find mother, and you can't handle one person? Hm?"

"Don't blame us; we were caught off-guard, brother." Yazoo simply told him

"Off-guard or not, you could have stopped them. What would mother think?" The youngest remnant taunted the long-haired one

"Hey!" Loz interjected "leave mother out of this!"

They had all been fighting like this for what seemed like forever. They were all pretty-well sick of it. Especially Kadaj, who knew he shouldn't trust his brothers.

"Enough, already! Go find big brother. We're not finished with him, and until we have mother, we _need _him. When you find out where he is return back here and tell me, but do not bring him. We need to strike when nobody is around. And don't even dare return before finding out his location." The silver-haired man commanded

Yazoo became furious at that statement.

"_Don't even dare return before finding out his location."_ That sentence coursed through his head over and over again. _He's _the older one; he shouldn't be taking orders from his little brother, let alone be told not to return home if he didn't follow a command he was told!

"hmph. Like you could handle this on your own." Yazoo muttered as he walked out the door to go search for the blonde.

…..

"Mister Strife?" Somebody disturbed him from his rest. Had he slept that long already?

Startled, Cloud slowly opened his eyes to find a brown haired nurse. He was still so tired, why did she have to bother him now?

"Sorry to bother you, but we have to change your bandages, and check on the wounds."

Cloud wanted to tell her to leave him alone. If only he could talk properly!

She went over to the side of his bed and took off his oxygen mask. It would be too difficult to clean the wounds if he had it on.

Cloud suddenly had a bit more trouble breathing.

"_I guess Reno was right when they said that Kadaj damaged my lungs, but…Ow…why does it hurt to move so much? What did th-they do to me?" _The blonde thought to himself.

A male nurse came in and helped the female. He held onto Cloud as the female looked over the wounds. It was then that he realized he was only wearing white hospital pants.

When she took off the bandages, Cloud felt her cold breath against his bare flesh when she gasped.

"You poor boy..You must have been through so much"

"_Too much."_ Strife would have loved to tell her.

"This might hurt." The nurse warned him as she took out some peroxide and a clean white cloth

"_It can't be that bad. At least not as bad as how I feel."_ He pondered

The male nurse that was holding Cloud tightened his grip around him, and the blonde got confused. That is, until she put the perioxide-coated cloth onto the sore flesh.

Cloud winced and struggled as best he could, trying to get away. Now he knew why the nurse held onto him so tightly. With all of the tubes in him, it might cause problems if he squirmed too much. Luckily, because of the state he was in, his mobility was limited anyways, so he didn't have to worry. She removed the cloth from the wound, and Cloud saw that the once-white shade it once was had now turned to a crimson red.

"_I must have been through hell…why can't I remember any of it?" _He wondered

After about 10 minutes of pain and suffering, the wounds and cuts were cleaned and re-bandaged.

Cloud was laid back onto his bed, and the oxygen mask was put back onto his face. He was free from them now!

"Hold still, please." The female nurse ordered him

The sword wielder gave her a perplexed look. That's when she took out a needle from her pocket.

Cloud's eyes shot open at the sight of it. He hated needles, because they reminded him of all the time he spent in Hojo's lab, as nothing more than a human guinea pig. He had always hated it there. The needles, the torture, the pain. But even worse than that was seeing them hurt Zack. They had never done anything wrong to deserve that! And now because of that sick, twisted man, Zack was dead.

Or was it Cloud's fault?

"_If Zack didn't have to drag me along with him, he could still be alive! I could have saved myself, and we could still be talking and laughing about everything, just like we used to! Why did he have to die?!" _Cloud kept mentally scolding himself. But deep down he knew it was not possible. Cloud was too weakened by all the experiments too have any chance of getting out of that place.

But now he's here, thanks to Zack. He was the one that was always there to bring him back when he thought he was going to lose it all together. He was the one keeping Cloud strong, and always promising that someday he'll get them out of there, even if it's the last thing he does.

Zack didn't know he was being so literal.

Throughout all of this thinking, Cloud hadn't noticed that he was being held down by the male nurse again; because he was struggling too get away from the needle.

"It's okay, bud. It's just some pain killers. You might feel a little dizzy and drowsy after, but it'll help you feel better." He told him

Cloud kept trying to resist being held down, but he was so weak and tired. Why does he always have to be such a push-over in times like this?!

Finally he gave up, and let the nurse give him the stupid injection.

"_Ow! Needles never hurt that much! Why did that one kill?!" _the blonde thought

"Another nurse will be in here with your meal shortly."

"_Great, I get some mush."_ Cloud thought

And with that, the blonde was left alone once more.

…..

Yazoo was walking around town. In fact, he had been for hours. And yet he couldn't find Cloud anywhere! Where was that damned blonde when you needed him?!

He didn't bother looking at the seventh heaven, because he knew he would not be there, and the first person that saw him would probably kick him out or try to kill him anyways. Not to say that he'd go down easily. He knew he was tough.

"_Where could they have taken big brother in that condition to begin with? He was terribly injured."_

That's when it hit the remnant.

"_If he's injured, he must be at the hospital" _Yazoo finally clued in. He headed towards it.

When he got there he knew that he had to be quick, and he had to be quiet. He couldn't just walk in and ask what room he was in; he was too hated in this town.

He walked over to the window and looked at the secretary's desk. She was just leaving! Perfect!

He made sure nobody was around.

The coast was clear.

He managed to open the window and then jump through it.

He strolled over to the secretary's desk and found the clipboard with the patients on it. Yazoo then started to search for the blonde's name.

"Strife…Strife…Where is he?!" he complained

After what felt like ages for Yazoo, he finally found Cloud's room.

"_411_" Yazoo took a mental note of his room.

"Maybe I should make sure…" he considered.

Yazoo made his way up the stairs to the third floor, which was the floor that had his brother on it.

He made his way down the hall and only found the numbers 384 to 404.

"_Why couldn't Kadaj just do this himself?" _he wondered "_He's the one that's always saying he can do everything!" _

He turned right and finally found room 411.

He opened the door for a moment, just to see if he was in there.

Bingo. He had found his brother. Who else was in there? He left before he could find out. He was pretty sure Cloud saw him, but luckily the door closed quietly, so his visitor wouldn't notice.

…..

Cloud was lying in his bed. Tifa, being the overly-concerned person she is, was visiting him again.

"How are you feeling Cloud?"

He was about to shrug, when the door opened.

Long silver hair, and a leather jacket…

"_Yazoo!" _Cloud's mind cried to him

Cloud's eyes widened and he pointed to the door as best he could.

"Hm?" Tifa looked at the door, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

She looked back at him, confused.

"What's wrong, Cloud?"

He reached out and got his pad of paper and pen that Reno had brought him, considering he couldn't talk.

He wrote the remnants name on the paper and gave it to Tifa.

She read it, but it only got her more perplexed. She got up from her seat and looked out the door into the hallway.

Nothing.

She went into the bathroom that was in the room and wet a cloth with cold water. She went back to the blonde and placed it on his forehead.

"Cloud, it's okay. There's nobody there. You're probably just hallucinating because of what just happened with them, mixed with the drugs they've been giving you here."

He shook his head. He wasn't hallucinating! He was really there!

"It's okay Cloud. You'll feel better once you get some more sleep."

She hugged him goodbye, and left.

He sighed.

"_He was there…Wasn't he?" _Cloud wondered.

Suddenly he began to feel drowsy.

"_Stupid drugs…" _His thoughts were lost as he drifted off to sleep.

…..

Yazoo went back to the 'house' and went downstairs. He was still angry with Kadaj.

"Why couldn't _he_ go find out where big brother was_?!" _Yazoo muttered. He was sick of being told what to do.

Kadaj was sitting on the couch again. He did not look to happy.

"_You _took your time." He stated bluntly

"Well _forgive _me; breaking into a hospital is not the simplest thing to do." The long-haired man replied.

"Hmph." Kadaj started "So. What room _is _he in? and what condition is he in?"

"Room 411. He seems to be healing fast; he should be out in a few more days." Yazoo reported

"Good. We strike then." Kadaj stated "And _this _time, there _won't _be any interruptions."

---

Y'know, my friend keeps asking me why I do all of this stuff to Cloud. And I answer "It's fun." But I feel kinda bad for the guy. Then again, I _am _the one who put him through all of this. Oh well he'll be okay…maybe. **Please leave a review and tell me how I did! **It's 4 'o clock in the morning to I'm not too sure how this turned out. Thanks!


	7. Chapter 7

Hey, guys. Well, here's another chapter, and I promise this one will hopefully be more exciting than the last. I was going to add this part in with Chapter 6, but I figured it would be better to leave you (yet again) with another cliff hanger. Thanks to all my reviewers!

Disclaimer: Leaves room to cry about not owning it

**Wrong Turn**

Chapter 7

"_I can't wait to get out of here_..._" _ Was all the blonde could think.

Over the next few days, he had only gotten better. He could walk around now, and his breathing has steadied, instead of being that wheezy and shallow one it was before, meaning he no longer needed the oxygen mask. His jaw was still a bit sore, but at least he could talk again. Not that he did all that much to begin with.

A part of him thanked his mako-filled blood, because that way he could get out of the hospital that much faster. Another part of him thanked Reno and Rude. They may be annoying at times, but they sure as hell did him a huge favour that night.

He went into the bathroom to see how he looked.

His black eye was barely visible, that was good. The bandages had been taken off yesterday. Normally the doctors would make people keep them on, but Cloud had healed so fast, that they didn't see any point to making him wear them. Now that he could see the bare skin, he saw that what he had been through was not pretty.

Although he had healed faster than most people, Cloud still saw that everywhere he had been attacked was still a faint purple, and he could still see the many stitches that he had needed.

Cautiously, the sword wielder reached up and touched his wounded shoulder. The pain he felt was immense and he couldn't help but wince.

"_How did they hurt me so badly? That bullet must have gone in pretty deep." _ Cloud took into account.

Thinking about pain, Cloud remembered one thing from when he was trapped. Something had hit him in the ribs. He couldn't figure out what, but he knew that it was strong enough to shatter some of his rib cage.

The blue-eyed man looked down to where his ribs were, and gently ran his fingers along them. He could feel where they had been broken. Kadaj's gang had gone too far.

"_They're going to pay" _Cloud made note of

…..

After a few more hours of waiting, a doctor came in, along with Tifa, who was holding a bag.

"Cloud. How are you feeling?"

Cloud just nodded his head.

"That's good. I brought you your clothes." She told the blonde, handing him the bag "As soon as you're dressed, we can leave. I've already signed the release forms"

That sentence made Cloud so happy. He had always hated hospitals, because they made him feel not only helpless, but also guilty because of all of the people in here that couldn't leave because of a disease or illness.

He shook off that thought and headed into the bathroom to get changed, locking the door in the process.

"_Finally, no more hospital pants." _ He remembered.

It hurt while he was getting into his real clothes, every inch of his body still throbbing from the pain and lack of movement over such a long period of time, but it was worth it to wash away the memory of being in the hospital for so long.

Once he was dressed in his proper attire, he came out of the bathroom and the doctor was looking at him, like he wanted to tell him something, so Cloud stopped and waited.

"You've healed incredibly fast, Mr. Strife, but that doesn't mean you can go around jumping off of walls and whatever it is you do. You're going to have to take it easy for the next few days, in order to let your body heal completely. Get lots of rest, and drink plenty of fluids."

"_Just how easy does he mean?" _Strife wondered "_I'm not sitting around like a helpless and innocent person for the next few days! I've already been doing that here!" _

Cloud nodded and put out his hand for the doctor to take

"Thanks" the blonde showed his gratitude to the doctor

The doctor shook his hand

"Don't mention it" He told Cloud

And with that the blonde left, his brown-haired female friend following behind him. Tifa waved her thanks to the doctor as well

…..

When they got home, Cloud just stopped and looked at the bar in awe. It felt like hadn't seen it in years, when really it had only been a few days. He had to try really hard not to smile at seeing the sight of his home. He had missed it so much. In fact, he had missed it so much, and was so surprised to see it, that he almost missed the phone ring right then. _Almost._

He went up the stairs and firmly picked up the delivery phone.

"Strife Delivery Service; you name it, we deliver it." He answered.

Somebody placed an order and Cloud started to write it down on the pad of paper that was on the desk.

"We'll have that for you right aw-" Cloud started to tell them, when suddenly a hand took the phone from him and hung it up.

Shocked, Strife looked over at the angry Tifa.

"Did you nor hear the doctor, Cloud? You just got out of the hospital because you were half dead! You can't just go out and make your deliveries like nothing happened! You have to take it easy!" the brunette scolded him.

"But-" yet again he was interrupted.

"No deliveries, Cloud! I'll handle them for awhile."

Spiky sighed. This wasn't fair! He was fine now!

"_I really don't see why I have to sit around!" _ He started to whine in his head.

"Well then what _am _I supposed to do?" He questioned her.

"I don't know. Watch Tv? call somebody? Read a book?" Tifa suggested

"Those are the things _you _do." He said in a melancholic tone.

"Well then… I'm not sure." She said, and walked down the stairs.

Cloud sat down in the chair, bored as ever, and started reading a book that Tifa had left on the desk called "To kill a Mockingbird.". The blonde was not very interested in it, but it killed the time.

About half an hour later, the female brunette came back up the stairs with some soup for Cloud.

"How are you feeling?" She asked him

"Fine, I guess." He replied behind his book, that finally gotten somewhat interesting.

"Oh come on, Cloud. It's not that bad." She told him

"Hmph." Was all Tifa got back.

"Here; maybe this will cheer you up." She said, putting the soup on the desk.

He peeked out of his book to look at what she had put there.

As mad as he was, he couldn't resist Tifa's soup.

"Thanks" Cloud told her, as he put the book down and started eating.

"Sure." She told him with a smile, and left the room, leaving Cloud in peace.

A few minutes later she came back with a bunch of packages in her hands. Cloud gave her a confused look.

"Me and Yuffie are going out to make some deliveries. We should be back by tomorrow morning. In the meantime, Reno's coming over to look after you, and make sure you don't do anything to strenuous."

Cloud was about to take another bite of his soup, when he paused halfway after hearing that Reno was coming here to "look after him". What was he? A _child? _He would be just fine on his own! She should know that!

"I don't need a babysitter." Fenrir's owner told his friend

"Just think of it as company." Tifa told him

He glared at her, but after seeing how serious she was, and knowing that he shouldn't mess with her, he just sighed and resumed eating his soup.

…..

About two hours passed, and Cloud had actually finished the book. Reno had gotten there about a half an hour ago, and was downstairs at the bar helping himself to a few drinks.

Strife looked out the glossy window and saw that it was dark outside.

"_What time is it, anyways?" _ He pondered.

Slowly, as to not to cause anymore pain to his currently fragile body, he got up and looked at the clock.

"_9:16..Time sure flies._" He took into account

Deciding he needed some company for once, he got up and went downstairs to where the red head Turk was sitting.

Reno turned his head when he saw something out of the corner of his eye, and noticed the blonde coming down the stairs.

"Hey, buddy. How's it goin'?" Although his words were _slightly_ slurred, Reno was pretty well immune to the affects of alcohol by now. He just liked the rush it gave him.

"Fine." Cloud told him "I see you're having fun."

"Definitely." Reno said.

"So why did Tifa send you here anyways?"

"She said she didn't want you doing anything extreme while she was out; therefore she didn't want to leave you alone." Reno told him

Cloud sighed. He already knew that.

They sat there for a little while longer, talking about recent events, before the blonde decided he was wiped off all his energy. It was, after all, his first day back from the hospital.

"I'm gonna go get some sleep." The blonde told the Turk

"Alright, night Strife." Reno slurred ever-so-slightly

Cloud nodded and began to head up the stairs.

"Cloud!" Reno called up to him

Strife looked over his shoulder back at him.

"Don't worry about Kadaj and those guys. They won't come near you."

Cloud nodded, but still showed fear in his eyes. He continued up the stairs, none the less.

"_Poor kid's as shaken up as a martini." _ Reno took a mental note of

Sitting back down at the bar, Reno couldn't help but feel like something was going to go wrong.

"_Oh well, it's probably the liquor that's getting me all worried. Better get some sleep before I wind up jumping out a window."_

Reno grabbed himself one last drink before heading off into the guest bedroom on the main floor.

…..

The red-head was sleeping in his big bed when all of a sudden he heard something...or…was it _someone…_out in the hall.

Reno went out into the bar area of the house and turned on the light. At least, the switch moved, but no light came on. He tried again, but no avail.

"_That's weird. Weren't those working before?" _he pondered for a second, before continuing his search for whatever had caused the noise.

"That you, Cloud?" he called out

He heard footsteps.

_Pitter…patter…pitter…patter_

"Cloud, if that's you, this isn't funny! You know not to sneak up on a Turk!" he warned. At least his eyes got adjusted to the darkness fast.

"Long time no see." Somebody whispered behind him.

Reno's eyes widened as he turned sharply to face his worst enemy. The man that seemed to be so fragile, but so violent at the same time. The same person he had been fighting just last week. Was he just hearing things? Or...

"Yazoo!" Reno cried in surprise

The Turk started to reach for his EMR, but he soon found an arm around his waist and arms, restraining his upper body, and a strong hand clamped down on his mouth. Reno could tell that from this person's strength that it had to be the short haired remnant. What was his name…Loz?

"Shh...You wouldn't want to wake up big brother, now, would you? After all, he needs his rest after what we did, and are _going _to do." The quiet silver-haired man taunted.

Reno let out a muffled growl, and began to struggle in the oldest remnants grasp. Loz just laughed and held on tighter.

"Don't waste your time. Even as we speak, Kadaj is upstairs, taking hold of your _precious _friend again." Yazoo hated being told what to do, but this was actually quite amusing."

"_What the fuck?! I'm a Turk; I should be able to get out of this!" _ Reno mentally kicked himself for being so stupid, and not taking his EMR out while he had the chance.

There was a moment of silence, before there was crashing and banging upstairs.

"_Cloud!" _his mind called in worry.

Doing what he thought would be best; he flipped Loz over his back and ran for the stairs.

He got up there and from what he could tell from the moonlight that shone through the large window; Cloud wasn't going to last much longer in the condition he was in.

"Cloud!" he started "Hold on, buddy!" He ran over to Kadaj and threw him off of his blonde friend.

Kadaj looked a little dazed, but he looked up and his facial features changed from confused, to enraged.

"You!" he called, standing up

Reno ignored him and finally got his EMR out and lunged at his enemy.

Kadaj dodged the attack and slashed his sword in a random direction. But judging by the way the red-head cried out in pain, he must have hit him.

Reno got up, and felt where his forehead was slashed. It felt wet, and stung at the touch. He could tell it was deep too.

"You son of a bitch!" Reno cursed at the silver-haired man

He got ready to lunge again, but he found himself in the same position he was in before. Not being able to move, or even talk.

"We said don't waste your time, and you didn't listen. Now look" Yazoo walked in front of him, and applied pressure onto Reno's cut, causing him to wince "You've done nothing but get yourself cut, and interfere with our plans"

Reno was just about ready to kill the next person he could lay his hands on, hoping it would be Yazoo. He _never _gets caught, and now he's managed to twice in one night?! He must be losing his touch!

He looked over at Cloud and saw that the blonde was on the floor, in pain and out of breath. He tried again to break free, but Loz had the upper hand.

Kadaj pointed his sword right at Reno's throat.

"Let's say we get rid of _you _first." He threatened the normally goggle-wearing Turk Reno had taken them off to sleep.

Reno was ready to be struck, when all of a sudden Cloud jumped up from where he was sitting and tackled the man who had just threatened his friend. Reno could only see out of one eye, due to the blood dripping from his gash, but he was surprised, none the less.

"Leave him alone, or else!" Cloud said, groggily

Kadaj only laughed in mockery 

"Or else what? In your condition, you couldn't hurt a fly!" he told the blonde

Cloud glared at him, and put his hand into a fist, ready to deliver a blow to the remnant's head. This was where he made his mistake.

The Youngest Remnant grabbed the hand that was about to strike him, and, with the help of his materia, threw Strife off of him, and into the wall, causing some debris to fall off of onto the blonde.

Cloud didn't move after that.

Yazoo went over to the blonde and slung him over his shoulder, and proceeded towards the stairs, with Kadaj following

Reno started muttering something in protest, but it didn't bother any of the remnants in the least.

"Take care of him." Kadaj ordered Loz from over his shoulder, before continuing down the stairs.

Right then, the Turk felt a bunch of emotions running through him. He felt fear for himself and Cloud, and what was going to happen. Worry for Tifa when she comes home, and how she'd feel. But most of all, Reno felt irresponsible and untrustworthy. Tifa had asked him to look after Cloud, which should have been a simple thing to do. Cloud had also thought that nothing was going to happen, and now he was unconscious and being held hostage again, and it was all because of him.

"_Man, I see why everybody thinks I'm so hopeless. Tifa should have never trusted me…" _

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts. That is, until something struck him over the head with such a force that the next thing he knew, he was falling towards the corner of the desk, and then he saw blackness.

…..

I told you guys this chapter would be more exciting, was it not? Please leave a review! Next chapter coming soon, I already have some ideas!


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Its call a disclaimerfor a reason; because I don't own Final Fantasy.

**Wrong Turn**

Chapter 8

The only thing Reno registered when he regained consciousness was the pain in his head. It was throbbing with such a great force, that the Turk could hardly take it. He moaned in pain.

"_Man…did I drink that much last night? I've never had a hangover like this before…" _He pondered.

He really wanted to take some pain killers, but he was afraid that he wouldn't even be able to get up without falling to the floor from how dizzy he felt. And he hadn't even opened his eyes yet.

Slowly opening his ocean blue orbs, he decided to take the risk of getting up. Reno sat up, and was about to make his way off the couch, when a strong hand, and a certain golden claw got hold of his shoulders, and gently laid him back down onto the soft couch and pillow.

"I wouldn't do that." The owner of the hands told him

Reno looked up, and realized that none other than Vincent Valentine was there keeping watch.

"_Great…get the vampire over here to keep watch over me. Wait…Why is he telling me what to do anyways?" _the Turk wondered.

"I can do what I want..." He said. His voice was so hoarse... How long had he been out for?

"After the damage you've taken to your head, I don't suggest doing very much." The cape-wearing man advised him.

"My head? What happened to my-.." He said, but stopped as he tried to remember what happened.

"_It's not a hangover?!" _Reno panicked mentally.

Reno reached a hand up to his head and felt bandages around it. It felt slightly damp, and even with the bandage there, his head still stung if anything came into contact with it at all. But Reno's memory was so fuzzy…what had happened?

"Vincent…What _did_ happen?" blue eyes looked into crimson

Vincent looked down at the floor, then back at Reno.

"I'm surprised you even remembered my name…" Vincent stated to a now confused Reno before continuing, "Kadaj and the other remnants came into the house last night. They attacked you, and took off with Cloud. Whatever they did, they caused some damage to your head. We found you lying next to the desk upstairs, your head was pretty banged up. We're all surprised you don't have a concussion, or worse."

Suddenly Reno's memory sparked and everything came back to him about what had happened.

"Cloud!" Reno cried in worry, as he flew up from his position. He realized it was a mistake, as his vision started swimming. He moaned and went back to lying down.

"…Where's Tifa?" was all he could ask

Valentine pointed over to the bar, where the brunette was sitting with a martini next to her. Reno looked, and was awestruck. Tifa never drank unless she was really upset…

"_Oh no…" _Reno thought in alarm.

Deciding to take it slow this time, Reno managed to get off the couch without any interruptions, and made his way to the bar, next to Tifa.

"Hey, doll face…how you doing?" he asked his female friend, his tone soothing.

He put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her. He was shocked when she shook him off.

"How could you?" She asked him without even turning to face him.

Reno looked slightly hurt as he asked her "How could I what?"

She got up and looked him right in the eyes. Reno could have sworn that there was a fire in them. He backed away slightly.

"I ask you to do one _simple _thing and you screw it up! It's no wonder everybody finds you so irresponsible, all you do is drink and party! You can't take anything seriously, and now, thanks to you, Cloud might be dead!"

"But, Tifa, I-.." he tried to interject

"I don't see how I ever thought somebody as hopeless as you could do anything right! All you ever do is screw everything up; and everybody wishes they'd never met you because of all the foolish things you've done!" Tifa interrupted him

She immediately regretted saying that, when she saw how deeply hurt Reno looked.

She looked away for a minute before finally trying to tell him

"Reno..I-I'm sorry…I'm just-.." she started

"No.." he was the one to interrupt this time. He turned his gaze from the floor, up to her, and continued. "No, you're right. About me being irresponsible, and how you should have never trusted me. About how foolish I am, a-and how I always screw everything up.."

Tifa looked at him with regret

"You were right about another thing too…"

"…What?" Tifa asked with a melancholic tone

"That everybody wishes they'd never met me…" He confessed.

"I am just a…a worthless person…" He continued "I'll go find Cloud, and then I'll be out of here, like nobody ever _had _met me. Nobody would miss me anyways, right?." He stated in a very hurt tone, before heading towards the door.

"Reno!" Tifa and Vincent called at the same time, trying to get him to stop. But the Turk just kept on walking.

And nobody followed him. They all knew not to follow him when he was upset, drunk, or mad. But they would go look for him soon. Especially with his head in bad shape, he shouldn't be out there for long, anyways. Maybe _he'd _come back, and they wouldn't have to go look for him.

-----

Hey, guys. Sorry for taking so long to update this, but I've been really busy with exams and stuff. Anyways, Tell me what you guys thought of thic chapter (I know it wasn't that exciting, but I'm running out of ideas. any suugestions would be greatly appreciated!) **READ AND REVIEW SO I KNOW IF I DID A GOOD JOB ON THIS CHAPTER!**


	9. Chapter 9

Sorry, guys. I know I've been slow with the updates lately. I'm not sure if this chapter is any good, because I winged it, mainly because I felt like writing and because I figured I should probably update this. I personally still don't think it's a bad chapter, but I will probably edit it later on because right now I'm sick and I don't really know what I'm talking about right now.

Thanks to all my reviewers! Now, on with the story!

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Final Fantasy, but I DO own this story. No touchy my story. But you can read it. 

**Wrong Turn**

Chapter 9

Cloud opened his eyes, once again coming back into the world of consciousness. He didn't know why he kept passing out, lately, but it was really getting irritating. And now he'd passed out again? How many times has it been now?

He thought back and vaguely remembered something about Reno coming in to save him from Kadaj…but then what had happened?

"_Kadaj? Not again…Not again!" _Cloud's mind cried in both anger and depression. Tifa must be so nerve-racked by now…How could he have let this happen again?

As his vision cleared for the umpteenth time, he realized he was somewhere different than when he had gone to bed. The room was very small, and pretty well empty, save for a few boxes that were labeled storage. The motorist also noticed something else out of place. There was no door! Had they sealed him in while he was senseless? That would be a death sentence for Cloud!

Already being able to tell that his wrists were once again bound to something, he began to struggle immensely. He wanted out of here, already! He was already injured and he didn't want to have to go through that torture again!

Cloud stopped struggling after, no doubt, finding it no use. He also realized that his back hurt now. It wasn't broken, but he felt like he had injured it somehow. If only he could remember the situation of how that could have happened. This completely pissed him off. He was hurt enough, and he was getting sick of all of this!

The blonde looked around the room once more. His eyes then caught something that they hadn't before. It was a curtain with a shade of grey that almost matched the wall perfectly. If he hadn't of looked more carefully, he would have thought there was no way out of here. Somebody stupid would walk right by that. At least he knew there was a way out now.

He sighed deeply. On the plus side, there was no sign of any of the remnants so far. But on the other side of the coin, Cloud needed out of here _fast _if he wanted any chance of surviving. If Kadaj or anybody found out he was conscious, Cloud would be a fish out of water, suffering every moment of the torture, not being able to do anything about it until he finally joined the lifestream.

No. No he wouldn't let that happen! He was _going _to get out of here. Cloud was sick of being at their mercy; it was payback time.

At least…when he got out of this it was.

…..

Reno had been spending the last few hours at the Healin' ranting on to Rude about how he felt like crap because of what Tifa said, and that his head wasn't helping. Rude was zoning in and out of his companion's speech, mainly because he was too busy with his work. He did feel bad for Reno, though. Tifa shouldn't have said those things, even if he _is _irresponsible. Him not listening didn't bother Reno, however. It was actually quite handy having silent man as your partner, because that way there was nobody to contradict you, or interrupt your anger ramble.

Rude knew that when Reno ranted, even when he was sick or injured, he was feeling better.

"I mean, really, yo! She could have been nicer! I did look after Cloud, afterall! We saved his life!" the red-head said in a somewhat frustrated tone.

Rude just sighed. He'd heard that sentence one too many times already.

"Rude, am I really a screw up?" Reno asked his companion

"No, Reno. For the twelfth time…_no._" the bald man assured him

"But Tifa thinks I am!" he whined back to his partner

Right about now is when Rude wished he had some advil. Or maybe some ear plugs. For a guy, Reno really could be really touchy. Maybe it was just because it was Tifa they were talking about. Reno always did like her.

"And you care what she thinks? It's one opinion. She probably didn't even mean it." The taller Turk told the informal one.

"Yes! I care what she thinks, man! She's _Tifa_!" he complained further to Rude

"So then…prove to her you _aren't a screw up." _Rude stated bluntly

Reno stopped pacing and looked over at his friend.

"That's a great idea, yo! I already told her I'd go find Cloud, and if can stop the remnants for good, then she'd really appreciate me!" he concluded

Rude just nodded at him and returned to his work.

"You not coming, yo?" Reno asked him

Rude moved his sunglasses to the brim of his nose to give Reno an evil glare. A glare that told him that after blaming him for leaving last time, he wouldn't be going with him for awhile.

"Alright, man, but you're missing out on the action."

Rude placed his sunglasses on properly and shrugged at his partner.

And with that, Reno left through the door, Rude watching him. He sighed and finished up his work.

…..

Hey, guys. I know this chapter was fairly short, as was the last one, but I just wanted to sum things up about what's going on, instead of just getting right into the action of Reno finding Cloud. I promise the next one will be more entertaining. And for all of the other Vincent fans out there, he'll be making a bigger appearance in future chapters, yay for Vince! Anyways, thanks for reading. And **Please review so I know how this turned out. Can I please get up to 30 reviews sometime soon? It'd make me feel so special! Thanks again! **And I apologize for any spelling mistakes, I'm sick and I'm just too tired to correct it all, though I did read it over once. Promise I'll edit it soon.


	10. Chapter 10

Hey, guys! Here's another chapter of my surprisingly popular fic. Yes, before you ask, this_ will _have Vincent in it.

Also, a special thank you to the following people:

**Neo-Nebula**: For the many great reviews in about an hour, leading me up to my goal of 30 reviews! I have 32 now! Yay! And also for the suggestion of what to do in my fic. It should come up in the next chapter or so.

**LastTrojanNight**: For the review and suggestion. Yay!

**YazooIsSuperior**: For the review and for hoping that I feel better soon (I do, thank you :P)

Thank you to everybody else who's read and reviewed and favorited!

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy. Believe me, if I did, I'd let you know. I DO however own this story, so don't steal it plz!

**Wrong Turn**

Chapter 10

Reno sighed as he walked along the slummy streets of Midgar. He wished he had some company with him. Granted he was still mad, and needed to cool off a bit, but Rude could have come with him. I mean, it's _Reno. _You can't leave him alone.

"_Stupid Tifa…Why did she have to say those things…Okay, so she's not stupid, but she could have kept her opinion to herself! Maybe I should go apologize to her. I mean, I did let them get away with Cloud. No! She should apologize to me. She mad me feel bad, yo! Although Rude did say she might not have meant it…Chicks are too complicated!" _Reno kept arguing with himself as he walked throughout the city.

"Reno." Somebody caught his attention from behind him.

He turned around and found none other than Vincent Valentine standing there. Vincent made Reno jump, that man was like a shadow sometimes; silent and mysterious.

"Oh. What do you want, Vampire?" Reno asked him in an aggravated tone. He wasn't mad at Vincent, he was just mad in general.

"You said you were off to find Cloud. From the looks of it you could use some help." He told his fiery-haired companion.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I can handle this on my own." He retorted back to the golden clawed man, before continuing his walk down the road.

"Reno, we can't let you go alone. You saw what they did to Cloud." Vincent warned him

The informal Turk stopped in his tracks and thought for a second. Who was we?

"Yeah? And who's "_we"_?" He questioned the cloak-wearing man.

"Tifa and I. We don't want you to end up like Cloud" Valentine told Reno.

"Hmph. Why would she care?" Was all Reno said.

Right after Reno had spoken those words, he saw Tifa approaching. The red-head started to head in the direction he was going, but Vincent grabbed his arm, telling him, even though he wasn't talking, that he needed to stay.

Reno sighed and turned to face the brunette.

"What do _you _want, yo?" He said to her, not really caring about manners right at this moment.

"Reno, I need to apologize. I didn't mean anything I said. I'm just worried about Cloud, and I guess I snapped." Tifa showed her sorrow by looking at him right in the eyes, showing that her wine-colored orbs were glossy with wet tears, some which had flown freely down her thin cheeks. Reno's heart melted at the sight of her.

The Turk sighed and looked up at the sky.

"_I guess silent man was right. Man, how is he always right, even though he NEVER talks?" _Reno's mind flooded with confusion as he looked back down at Tifa

"Don't worry about it, doll face. I'm worried too. Hell, I was just flippin' out at Rude. Guess we all need to let our anger out somehow."

At that, Tifa Lockhart couldn't help but smile. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she began to talk again.

"Does that mean we can help you?" she asked Reno

"Sure. Silent man bailed on me, so I could use all the help I can get." The informal man explained to her, before looking at Vincent.

"But, I guess we got the next best thing, huh vampire?" he asked Vincent, causing the blood-eyed man to glare at him.

Vincent pulled out his gun and held it out, pointing it right at Reno.

Reno froze and looked directly at Cerberus.

"Hey, hey! Cool it, yo! It was a joke!" He told Valentine, holding up his hands as a sign of defense.

Vincent just looked at him confused, before putting the bullets into his prized possession, and placing it back into its holster.

"I think _you_ need to cool it." Vincent stated plainly, before walking off in the direction Reno was going, Tifa and Reno following him.

…...

Walking through the forest, Tifa and Vincent couldn't help but feel a bit insecure. Neither of them had ever been around here, and they were starting to wonder if Reno was thinking straight.

"Reno...Are you sure about this?" Vincent finally broke the silence

"Yeah, man. Don't worry about it. I know where we're going." The blue-eyed man assured the raven haired one, looking back at him for a moment, before facing back in the direction he was going.

"But Reno…I've never been around here. It's almost completely deserted of people." Tifa reminded Reno

"That's what Kadaj and all of them wanted. Think about it. Their last base was in the Forgotten City." Reno explained

Tifa only nodded in agreement and continued walking.

…..

After a long and seemingly endless walk, they arrived at the little house that Reno and Rude had found Cloud at before.

Reno, remembering what Rude had done last time, went over to the door and got ready to kick it down, only to be stopped by Vincent.

"What are you doin', man? Get out of the way so we can break the door down!" Reno barked at Valentine.

"The window would be a better idea. It won't attract attention." The ex-Turk explained, pointing to an open window.

The red-head looked and sighed. Even_ he _knew when he was being careless.

"Alright, lead the way." He said in a bored tone

Vincent went in through the window and looked around. He could tell that there was somebody living here, because there were unmade cots in the living room. What puzzled Vincent the most was that the rest of the room-the rest of the house- was empty. The remnants couldn't have spent a lot of time here.

Tifa and Reno joined Vincent shortly after, looking around for the remnants. Finding none, they decided to head down the stairs.

"You and Reno go down first. I'll stay at the back, incase any of them are still up here." Vincent Commanded.

Deep down Tifa didn't want him to go last. She didn't want any of them to sneak up on her friend, and it made her feel kind of helpless whenever she was in the middle of something, not being able to help. She knew she helped, but she knew she could help more than she did. Sighing, she agreed with the cloaked man, none the less.

They walked down the creaking stairs; every slight noise one of them made caused each of them to hold their breath. They might be capable of kicking people's asses, but it didn't make them want to be discovered when they didn't have to be.

After they had slowly but surely made there way downstairs was then that they realized that they had a problem. A _big _problem.

Cloud wasn't there.

……

Cloud awoke from his somewhat peaceful sleep when he heard a creak coming from outside of the small curtain-enclosed room. It sounded like it was somebody coming down the enormous set of stairs.

"_Damn…Not yet! It's too soon!" _Cloud mentally panicked. If it was Kadaj and the rest of them (which Cloud thought highly probable) then he was officially doomed. He strained against the rope that held him captive, but it held him fast. He wasn't getting away. The blonde kept staring at the curtain, every waiting moment feeling like hours. Fenrir's owner was unbelievably tense as he heard the footsteps of people. _Three _people.

"_Oh god…" _Was what Cloud's mind kept repeating.

"He's not here?" Somebody asked. They sounded so familiar…It wasn't the remnants! That was Vincent!

"Where the hell is Cloud, man?!" A second person cursed.

"…_Reno?" _The blonde considered

Then he heard somebody rushing around the room.

"Oh my god...He's not here!" yet another voice stated in panic. There was no mistaking that voice.

"Tifa!" Cloud called, his cry muffled through the gag in his mouth.

"What was that?" His childhood friend asked her companions. Obviously she couldn't understand him.

"Tifa!" He cried a bit louder

"What was what?" Valentine asked Lockhart

"I heard something or...or someone!" She alerted her friends

"Yeah, right Teefs. You're prolly just hearing things. Look around; there's nobody here but us." Reno simply explained to her, as he started to lean against what he thought was a wall, but was really the non-distinguishable curtain that hid his blonde companion.

Reno yelped in surprise as he fell back into the room, taking the curtain with him. Moaning as he got up, the blue-eyed fool took the curtain off of his head, and saw Cloud Strife.

"Uh…Guys? I think I found him, yo." He announced to Vincent and Tifa, calling over his shoulder.

Both of them went over (in Tifa's case-ran over) to where the red-head had fallen through the seemingly invisible hole in the wall.

The brunette-haired female looked into the room and saw her blonde crush, tied to a pole and gagged. She gasped in both happiness and surprise.

"Cloud!" she exclaimed as she ran over him, quickly hugging him before going behind him to untie his wrists.

Once Cloud was released, he took the gag out of his mouth and stood up.

He went over to Tifa, knowing he should apologize for worrying her.

"Tifa, I…I'm sorry for disappearing like that again, I jus-" He tried to explain, but found he couldn't talk when Tifa placed her lips onto Cloud's, kissing him affectionately with her arms wrapped around his neck.

Cloud stood there for a minute, shocked, with a slight blush on his cheeks, before closing his eyes and wrapping his arms around her waist, returning the kiss.

They released after a moment, each of their faces a new shade of pink, staring into each other's eyes.

Reno reminded the two that they weren't alone by commenting.

"Whoa, looks like we got a new couple, yo." He announced.

Cloud turned and glared at him.

"Shutup." He said smoothly, making Tifa giggle in the process. She cuddled into him, and it made Cloud forget his argument with Reno, and simply hugged her tighter.

Their romantic moment was interrupted when they heard the front door open, and footsteps coming down the many stairs.

They all froze. Kadaj had returned.

…..

Uh oh, looks like we have yet another cliff hanger! Bet you guys weren't expecting the little fluff scene to happen, huh? Can you guys tell me what you thought of that, along with how I did with the chapter? In other words, **read and review so I know if this turned out okay. More coming soon!**


	11. Chapter 11

Sorry about the long update wait! I kind of got uninspired from this fic, and started others, which are surprisingly popular. Anyways, I'm back on this now, so here's another chapter. Special thanks to Neo-Nebula again for the idea(s). they will show up very shortly (I know I said that before). Definitley in the next chapter.

On with the story.

**Wrong Turn**

Chapter 11

"Shit!" Reno cursed, looking around for a way out.

"Cloud! What are we gonna do!" Tifa panicked.

The blonde simply stayed silent and glanced around the room along with Reno.

"We have to get out of here." Valentine explained

"Thanks for the info, _genious._" the red-head said, exaggerating the sarcasm in his voice.

Vincent ignored his rude remark and looked around, _finally _noticing a window in the corner of the room.

"Cloud, the window." He said to the blonde.

Strife looked over to where Vincent was pointing and saw that there was, indeed, a window.

"C'mon." he told Tifa, pulling her over to the glass panel.

Cloud opened the window, and lifter her up, allowing her to go through the small space. Tifa looked back at him with concern, not knowing what to do if he was to stay in there.

"Cloud!-" She started, but he cut her off.

"I'll be right back. Wait here." He commanded her, before going back into the room. Tifa sighed in worry. What if he got hurt again?

"You guys have to get out of here. _Now._" The blonde told his two other friends.

"No way, yo. I changed my mind; I want to take these guys on!" Reno, who was leaning against the railing of the stairs, contradicted him.

"_That was quick.." _Vincent noticed

"It's me they want, not you. Get out of here!" Strife ordered, losing his temper.

Reno sighed. He knew that when Cloud talked in sentences that he was serious.

"Fine. But you'd better let me get my revenge on them sooner or later. I don't have these bandages on my head for nothing, yo." The Turk stated, before beginning to walk towards the window, only to be kicked to the ground by a newcomer.

"What the hell?" he asked angrily, turning around to see who had done that, although he had a pretty good idea of who the culprit was.

"Why not get revenge now? It'd be a shame to let you leave without the satisfaction. Besides, I want to have a little fun." Yazoo, the one who had obviously kicked him down, stated. Just as Reno thought.

"Alright, we'll play a _game_. But you asked for it." Reno stated, with a cocky grin on his face, before jumping up and lunging at him with his EMR.

Yazoo just dodged and kicked him back again.

"You should know by now.." He started, walking over to the downed Reno, lifting him up by the scruff of his shirt.

"I _always _win at games.." he finished, smirking evilly at him. Before he had time to do anything else, he felt a pointed, metallic shoe kick him with a force that sent him flying into the wall, forcing him to release his grip on Reno.

"Game Over." Vincent told the silver-haired man, pointing Cerberus at him.

Yazoo simply laughed.

"Oh, no..the game..has just _begun._" The remnant told him, before Loz and Kadaj were both trying to attack Valentine.

"_What?...how did they get there so fast?" _Cloud pondered.

"It's a new materia we found." The longer haired remnant stated, almost seeming to read the blonde's mind.

"Hmph. So you need materia to stand a chance against your enemies?" Cloud asked him.

"No. But we always like to have an advantage." Kadaj said to the blonde, still trying to attack Vincent, who, luckily, was putting up a good fight, with only a few hits taken to him.

Cloud knew what he had to do. If only he had a sword with him! What else could he use? His fists? Maybe…but he was used to weapon combat, not hand-to-hand.

Cloud sighed. Oh well, practice makes perfect, right?

Strife went over to Kadaj and punched him. From what he could tell, he had hit him hard enough, because it make the remnant retaliate from fighting Cloud's enigmatic friend. He looked at the blonde, the amount of rage in him now glowing in his cat-like eyes.

"Haven't you learned your lesson?" He asked Cloud, lunging at him with his sword.

The blonde, thankful for having fast reflexes, ducked out of the way and grabbed his foot, throwing him to the other side of the room. Kadaj hit his head on a pipe, and was out cold.

"_Didn't know I could do that.." _Cloud admitted in his mind, somewhat proud of his accomplishment.

"Hey! What'd you do to my brother?" Loz asked, his voice showing his annoyance.

His answer was Reno smacking him over the head with his EMR, and knocking him out as well.

"It doesn't feel good when people smack you over the head, _does _it?" Reno asked the unconscious man, smiling a wicked grin.

"We'd better get out of here." Vincent stated.

"Is that _all _you say in a situation like this?" The goggle-wearing Turk asked his black-haired friend.

Vincent glared at him, but let it go and turned towards the window.

Yazoo, who had been watching all of this, jumped up and blocked their path, holding his gun out yet again.

"I _can't _let you do this." He explained to them.

"Watch us." Reno stated bluntly, pushing him into the other room harshly.

"Run!" he yelled to his friends, before dashing to the window, and climbing out as quickly as possible.

Vincent and Cloud followed, and the blonde met up with a worried Tifa.

"Oh god, are you guys okay?" She asked them all, but directed her main concern at Cloud. Strife nodded a reply, even though he was in a lot of pain.

"Let's get out of here." Cloud said.

"Yeah.." Lockhart agreed, and began to walk in a quick pace with Cloud, with the other two following behind.

….

"_Not again! Brother's going to kill me!" _Yazoo panicked, still sitting in the pile of empty boxes he had been unceremoniously pushed into by the red-head.

The remnants blood seemed to boil in anger, disappointment, and fear, all mixed together. What was he supposed to do? When his brothers woke up, they would yell at him for being so irresponsible and letting him.._them.._get away again.

"_Is it really my fault? They were just as careless as I was…but they'll still blame me." _Yazoo kept arguing with himself.

What if they just took care of him for good this time? No, He couldn't let that happen! He had to get out of here.

Growling about how complicated things were getting, he balled his hand into a fist and punched the wall, causing a hole to appear in it, and make dust fly everywhere.

Not wanting to waste anymore time, the skinny, long-haired remnant jumped up and dashed up the stairs and through the door. He knew it was a childish thing to do, but he was running away anyways. He was tired of being treated like a child. He was older than Kadaj, he wasn't going to let him boss him around anymore. He was going to be independent.

He didn't need his brothers.

…..

Well, that was it. Hope you guys liked it. Was it any good? Review and let me know, would you? Hope this makes up for the amount of time you guys had to wait. Next chapter should be posted within the next few days, because I already know what to write. Thanks to all my readers and reviewers! Makes it worth while to know people enjoy it. And don't worry, all my new fics will still be updated too. I'm not stopping any of those, either.


	12. Chapter 12

Whoo

Whoo! Thanks so much for the reviews/favorites and whatnot. I really appreciate it all! And 3271 hits? Holy crap! I know some authors out there probably get that much in like a week, but I feel so special. Thank you guys! And thanks for waiting for this chapter. I've been busy, and I bought Crisis Core, so I've been playing that.

To Neo-Nebula: This is your chapter, hope you enjoy it. And thanks again for the idea!

Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Final Fantasy, but I own _this_ story line.

**Wrong Turn **

Chapter 12

"_Why did I even bother with them in the first place? I was always second best to Kadaj, doing his dirty work while he and Loz took the time to sit around! Mother shouldn't let this happen..does she even love me?"_

Ever since he ran off, Yazoo had been flooded with confusion. What if all this was just a big waste of time? He and his brothers had been on the hunt for Jenova for ages, and they never seemed to get any closer. Should he just give up now? Nobody would care; he was just a remnant after all. That's all he _ever _was. A mere remnant of Sephiroth. What was so great about him anyways? He didn't seem anything like the so-called "hero" he had claimed to be, all he did was haunt Yazoo's dreams. He haunted all of their dreams. Some hero _that _was.

If somebody who caused destruction and pain to the world was a hero, he would hate to see what anything less that Sephiroth was. Maybe Yazoo was exactly that. Maybe Yazoo had been a monster all along. He didn't even know himself.

Continuing his stroll around nowhere, he began to realize how pointless this really was. He didn't know anything about this place, really. He just remembered fighting here a few weeks ago with that red-headed guy. He hated that man.

Yazoo, starting to get tired after walking around for hours, thought it would be best to relax somewhere. A restaurant? A bar? He really had no preference; he just wanted to quit this pointless excavation.

There were a few places he saw a while back, but they all looked like they could collapse into themselves at any moment. He was upset, but he liked being alive for what it was worth, and those restaurants would probably kill him if he went inside. The cat-eyed remnant turned around a corner, and looked at his new environment. There were kids playing on the streets, running after each other. There was traffic beyond belief, and a few of the cars were honking their horns out of impatience. Yazoo wished his life was that simple. To go out wherever he felt like, not worrying about a thing. Those people honking their horns shouldn't be impatient. Did they even know how lucky they were? Kadaj's sibling assumed not.

Yazoo was about to head back to where he came from, but he noticed a sign out of the corner of his eye. He looked up to read it.

"_Seventh Heaven..." _He pondered. It sounded familiar, but he couldn't remember where from. Looking it over, he realized that it seemed like a pretty decent place. The walls weren't old and dirty, and didn't look like they would break on contact. He decided to head inside.

What he saw when he entered wasn't at all what he had expected. People were passed out on the floor, and there was smoke everywhere, causing Yazoo to cough. He walked in a little further, and looked at the lone bartender. After doing so, he had already wished he was dead. It was that same girl from before. He could never remember her name, but she was friends with Cloud.

"_Does that mean big brother is here?" _he wondered in worry. He sure as hell wasn't going to stay to find out. He turned towards the door and was about to head out, but some little kid got in the way.

"Hey..aren't you that guy who attacked us a few weeks ago? You and those other guys.." the boy paused, almost like he was going to cry. "you killed my mom! She's dead because of everything you all did!" he hollered at him.

Before Yazoo could even reply, the kid had jumped on him, trying to attack him. Yazoo, being the stronger one, pulled him off almost immediately, holding him up by the scruff of his shirt. He pulled him close, so that he was staring straight into his mako-enhanced eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking about. We killed no one! All we want is to know where mother is, and then that'll be the end of everything. And I don't need some child telling me what I did and didn't do!" He finished, dropping the kid roughly on the ground, causing the little boy to squeak in pain. He had lied to the kid. He didn't care about mother anymore. He didn't care about anything.

Yazoo ignored the kid's cry and started for the door again. He was interrupted one more time, as he felt a strong grip on his shoulder. He turned around, the rage now showing more than ever, to see who had grabbed him. Who he saw was not who he had hoped for.

"So. You're back again, huh?" Cloud questioned him. Yazoo's expression quickly melted into one of fear, every one of those words sending a cold, dark shiver down his spine.

"What do you want?" Cloud continued to ask questions.

The remnant stayed silent, afraid that any words he spoke would enrage the blonde even more. It was rare to see Cloud like this, even in Yazoo's opinion. Strife had always seemed like one to keep calm and collected, and not show much emotion.

Suddenly he felt himself no longer on the ground, but in the air. He felt himself crash into something, and then land harshly on the ground. But it didn't feel like the ground from the bar..what happened? Yazoo pulled himself onto his feet, and looked at the ground beneath him.

"_What? Pavement?" _He was puzzled. Just a moment ago he had been inside. Had Cloud thrown him out the door? Of course, that would have explained the object he had harshly been thrown into.

Just as Yazoo solved the mystery, the blonde came out, angry as ever. Only this time, he had his sword in his hand.

"No! You don't understand.." he tried to explain to the ex-Soldier. "I don't mean any harm!"

"Yeah..like I'm about to believe you!" Cloud snapped back, before lunging at him. This time, Yazoo was aware enough to dodge. He was so confused! Cloud had suddenly appeared out of nowhere and attacked. What was that about? He could understand him being angry, but for him to suddenly attack with such power and determination was bizarre, even for him.

Cloud ran at him again, and Yazoo froze. He was out of it today. He must have been, because the next thing he knew, the blonde had slashed him in the stomach, sending him flying meters away, crashing into a brick wall.

Yazoo felt something he hadn't felt for a long time. Pain. His fragile body shook as he got up, only to collapse again, feeling a sharp agonizing pain in his lower body. He examined where he was hurt. A weird red liquid was pouring out from where the sword-wielder had struck him. Blood? Yazoo had never really bled before. It hurt more than he thought it would.

"_Why is everybody against me lately? I've done nothing wrong! I just want to be with mother! I've done..nothing wrong at all.." _So many thoughts were going through the remnant's mind. He felt so many emotions. Pain (both physical and emotional), betrayal, loneliness, and depression. Why was this all happening so fast? His life seemed to be slipping away, almost like water down a drain. He couldn't take it anymore.

He was having trouble seeing now. He wasn't falling unconscious, so what was in his eyes? He wiped one of them, and saw a clear substance on his gloved hand. Water? He was..crying? No! He can't be crying! What was going on? He didn't like this.

After letting the tears flow for a few seconds, he began to notice something. It felt good to cry. He was letting all of those haunting emotions out. He enjoyed crying.

Yazoo, now having the strength to get up, pulled himself up off the ground, and began heading back home. He didn't care what his brothers thought anymore.

Then he felt the same pain again. It was the sword. Yazoo collapsed, due to the force of the blow, and the pain he was in. Before he could even attempt to get up, a heavy foot was placed against his chest, holding him to the ground. His tired emerald eyes looked up, and, with no surprise, saw none other than Cloud standing over him, breathing heavily, anger growing with each breath he took. As Yazoo looked closer into his eyes, he saw that they were cold and dark, and it reminded him of his own future. Not like he had a very big one, anyways. He was going to die now. Sad, incomplete, and alone, his life was going to end in tragedy.

Cloud raised his sword over his head, about to finish his task, just as Yazoo's world started swirling around him. Too much blood had been lost.

One more tear was shed, and then the sword came down. He didn't have time to know if it had struck him, because all he saw was black, and then a warm white light.

--

Don't worry, I might not kill him. Depending on what the majority votes. So guys, tell me if I should kill him or not. Review! Thanks for reading. Sorry for any typos (I'll edit soon), and I'm sorry if it's short. It's the best I could come up with.


	13. Chapter 13

Wow, guys, it is _just _like me to do that! I'm really sorry for not updating as fast as I should. I figured I should get these chapters done, because for the next while after this, I'm going to be really busy. Hope you guys don't hate me. Enjoy this next chapter! And I'll be posting another one tomorrow to make up for the time I've been stalling.

Disclaimer: I own no part of Final Fantasy.

Wrong Turn

Chapter 13

When Yazoo awoke, it wasn't like he had thought it would be. At first he thought he had died. The warm white light was welcoming, yet he had been denied its comfort. Did mother not wish for him to enter the heavens because he did not deserve to be there? Or because he had not pleased her enough, and needed to stay on earth until he had?

However, after he opened his tired eyes, he noticed that he was in a simple room, with a small bed he had been placed upon, and a little nightstand next to where he lay. In the far left corner there was a small oak desk, its color contrasting the pale blue walls. On the right-hand wall there was a slightly aged window, covered by velvet curtains. It wasn't heaven, but he was pleased he wasn't in shackles or anything. Hell, there wasn't even anybody keeping watch over him.

His head throbbed. He raised a gloved hand up to where he was in pain, and felt a bandage over his cut. Confused, Yazoo reacted by examining the rest of his body. He noticed that there were more bandages along his body, including one on his arm that had a red tint on it. The blood that that cursed blonde had made him shed. He could only cringe as he slowly remembered the fight.

He laid his head back onto the pillow, trying to relax. If only he knew where he was! He could only assume that whoever took him in was kind, as they had tended to his wounds. But if he wasn't near his home, then how would return to his brothers?

No. He didn't care for them anymore. They were useless to him now. They only ever got in his way, giving him orders, and not letting him do anything for himself. Without them, he was free now.

The remnants ears perked up as he heard footsteps somewhere outside his room. He wondered where the person was going for a short amount of time, before the sound of feet approached with a slow speed. His eyes widened. They were coming towards him!

Before Yazoo even had time to try and escape, the person entered his small room, disturbing any peace he might have had. The light slowly crept its way into the gloomy bedroom, stinging the remnant's eyes, and temporarily robbing him of his sight. As Yazoo blinked to regain his vision, he could see the figure approaching. Who was that?

"You're awake?" the voice asked "So, you're okay then?"

Yazoo could only roll his eyes. How obvious was it that the person who tried to kill him, was now checking up on him? It's what always happened in the books he read. However, it still didn't stop him from wondering why Cloud hadn't killed him.

"Hello?" Cloud asked, after receiving no response.

Yazoo's long silver hair fell over his face as the voice startled him from his small thought. He moved it out of the way, and looked at the blonde with his entrancing eyes.

"Fine." He replied quietly, receiving a perplexed look from his companion.

"What?" Strife asked another question.

"I'm _fine." _Yazoo told him, making sure he understood this time.

Cloud paused for a moment, looking at him with blank, yet mysterious eyes, before nodding. Yazoo didn't understand the blonde's emotions. He never had.

"Anything you need?" Fenrir's owner asked hesitantly, as if the words spoken were poisonous.

"_I need out of here..." _he thought. He silently shook his head at Cloud, causing his hair to fall back down in front of his face, almost as if it were a curtain. He didn't want to admit it, but Yazoo was scared. He had been through so much in this past day (or days. He wasn't really sure how much time had passed now.), and he couldn't take much more of it. To suddenly be assisted by your enemy is such a strange feeling. It made him feel confused, nervous, and somewhat weak; nobody wants help from somebody they hate.

Unknown to Yazoo, Strife nodded again, giving a small sound of acknowledgement, before walking towards the door again. The remnant's ears perked up as he heard the sound of shoes hitting against wood. The blonde was finally leaving. He could finally be alone again; it felt like Cloud had been in there for ages, when in reality it had only been a few moments.

The sound of the shoes did not die down as Strife left, but simply came to a sudden halt. Kadaj's sibling was confused, but not alarmed, and resumed with his thoughts.

"I'm sorry.." He heard faintly, barely making out the words.

Silver hair shifted out of the way as he turned his head, allowing Yazoo to see Cloud standing at the small doorway, with his back turned towards him.

"Huh?" was all the remnant could say.

"I said I'm Sorry." Cloud repeated. When he got no reply, he took it as a bad sign, and resumed his explanation.

"Tifa saw the fight, and came out just before I could.." he paused, and shook his head, not wanting to get into too much detail. He didn't want to remind Yazoo that he had almost died. That would scare him even more. Not to mention lose the small amount of trust he had in him.

"She told me to give you a chance. I don't know why she wants me to, after you all tried to kill me.." Cloud continued "…But I guess I can't argue with her. She made me take you inside and help you…That's why you're here."

Yazoo could only stare. The information he had just been told was…well, random to say the least. He had not expected that from the blonde at all. Hospitality was something he was not used to. Not that he was complaining; he couldn't remember the last time he had been in a decent bed, and not sleeping on the floor, with nothing but a filthy rug underneath him. He could almost say that Cloud was being nice. _Almost._

The blonde walked out of the room, closing the door behind him, leaving a puzzled, yet relieved Yazoo, to think about what was going to happen. He didn't know where he was going to go after this. He probably wasn't going to go back to his brothers, he had already decided that. Maybe he could find his own little home, where he could try and start a normal life. As normal as a remnant's life could be anyways. He just hoped he wouldn't wind up in a cardboard box on the street.

He shook the thought out of his head. That wouldn't happen. He could take care of himself.

And he would be fine on his own.

--

**A/N: **Okay, so I know this isn't the best chapter, but it's mainly because I wanted to get Yazoo's thoughts and feelings in.

Sorry if Cloud seemed a bit OOC. It was the best way I could make him explain everything to Yazoo. I tried!

Also, if you guys haven't figured it out yet, this stories coming to an end soon. There's only about two or three more chapters left. But there'll probably be a sequel, if anybody wants me to. Feel free to tell me if you do.

Thanks for reading, and putting up with my lazy butt. R&R, thanks for the faves/reviews/alerts!


	14. Chapter 14

As promised (though not on the day I told you it would be posted), here's another chapter. Hope you enjoy it! I should have another one posted tonight or tomorrow.

Disclaimer: I own no part of Final Fantasy.

Wrong Turn

Chapter 14

A few hours had passed, and still Yazoo was just sitting there. He could be out searching for his home; for his new life. Why was he sticking around this place?

If he_ was _just sitting there, that obviously meant his brothers were out doing something involving mother. Maybe they were even looking for him. He hoped not. If they found out he had run away from them, he would be in even more trouble than he already was. Even if they _were _looking for him, it wasn't likely that they would find him here. Cloud was the last person they'd expect him to be with, if anybody.

Once again, Yazoo was interrupted as the wooden door creaked open, letting the light into his room once more.

"_What now?" _He wondered, trying to adjust his eyes to the lighting.

This time, however, the light was turned on, causing the remnant to squint for a moment, before looking at the intruder. It wasn't Cloud, but the brunette bartender, Tifa. What was she holding? Some sort of murder weapon?

His question was answered when she came over to him, and placed a bowl of soup on his night stand.

"Hope you're hungry." She told him.

He turned his gaze down to the liquid in the ceramic bowl. It was somewhat yellow in color, and had a lot of noodles in it. He assumed that the little bits of meat were chicken, and came to the obvious conclusion.

"_It's chicken noodle soup..." _Yazoo thought, as he looked back up at Tifa. He was surprisingly hungry, now that he thought about it. He hadn't eaten in days, and he had always liked chicken soup the few times he'd had it.

"..Thank you." He nodded slightly, appreciating her hospitality. Those words were foreign to him, yet as he spoke them, he couldn't help but feel a sense of happiness. The bartender smiled in return.

"You're welcome." She replied, before turning to leave.

"Oh! And by the way.." Tifa paused. "Eat quickly, cause as soon as you're finished, we're going to find you some new clothes." She added out of the blue.

Yazoo, not seeing what was wrong with his current attire after looking it over, gave her a puzzled look.

"What?" he questioned, tilting his head slightly.

"Well, you can't stay in _that _anymore. It's ruined." She explained, making Yazoo examine his outfit again. "Besides, if you "_mean no harm" _as you told Cloud, then you should probably lose the whole 'I'm a bad guy' look. Cloud even said he could lend you some of his clothes!" Tifa finished excitedly, heading out the door before he could even reply.

Yazoo blinked at where she once stood. Did he really have the 'I'm a bad guy' look as she said? He didn't even know what the bad guy look _was._ He sighed in defeat. It was too late to protest now, anyways.

"_From now on, I'm keeping my mouth shut about that stuff." _He declared to himself, picking up the soup next to him, and drinking it. It tasted good. In fact, he had never had anything like it before, and before he knew it, the bowl was empty.

"_I guess it was a good thing she brought me that soup.." _Yazoo decided. he didn't know how much longer he could last without eating.

He put the bowl down again, letting take its place back on the small table. He sighed. What now?

Looking over at the small clock on the wall, he saw that it was 3:46pm. What an awful time. He preferred when it was later, and when the moon was out. He felt a sense of security at that time of night, because that way none of the townspeople would see him and get frightened. He didn't care about the townspeople's well-being, be he _did _care that they were scared of him. He only ever did the terrible things around the sector because Kadaj had told him to. Now, because of that, every time he was seen he had been pushed around, or threatened. He would never admit it to anybody, but that wasn't who Yazoo was.

He shoved the thought away, and got out of bed.

"_No use sitting around if it isn't necessary_." He told himself, stretching his legs a little, before heading for the door.

Suddenly, from behind him, he heard a quiet jingle. It was unfamiliar, and he couldn't help but turn around to find where it was coming from. He scoped the room out for the source of the sound. He looked on the night table, on the window sill, and even under the bed, where he found nothing but dust bunnies. After all that, he still couldn't where the jingle was coming from, and by the time he got off of the floor, the jingle had stopped.

"_Great..now I'm never going to find it." _He sulked in his head.

Just then the jingle started up again. He looked around frantically, and noticed it was coming from the computer desk. Or rather, something _on _the computer desk. He approached the object, and noticed that it was a cell phone. He picked it up in his gloved hand to give it a closer look. It looked familiar. Who's could it be? When he quickly thought of the answer, he mentally struck himself for being so clueless.

"_Big brother's cell phone.." _he remembered it now. Kadaj had been on it when he had phoned Tifa for the first time.

It rang again in his grasp, the small vibrations pulsing through his hand. He looked back at the door. Cloud was not coming to get it like he had expected him to. Should he just answer it for him? It would be rather rude, but what if it was an emergency? It would have to be if the person called twice in two minutes. He could give the message to Cloud after.

Yazoo sighed, and flipped the phone open, receiving a "call connected" message on the phone's screen.

"Hello?" Yazoo asked, after placing the phone to his ear. He thought it would be one of Cloud's friends or something, so he tried to act as casual (and calm) as he could. After all, they all knew his voice by now. He didn't want to alarm them.

"Yazoo?!" A voice called his name. It wasn't a voice that belonged to any of Cloud's friends, that was certain. The voice Yazoo had just heard had been the one he had least expected, let alone least _wanted _to hear. "Yazoo, Is that you?! Why are you on big brother's phone?"

"K-Kadaj..?" he asked, turning even whiter from surprise.

"Yazoo, _answer _the questions. Where are you?" his brother asked, sounding nothing less than furious.

The remnant froze. He couldn't let him know where he was, he would come after him without a second thought. And what if he hurt Cloud or the others? He wasn't saying they were his close friends, but they had done nothing but help him since he was here. He couldn't let anything bad happen to them.

"Yazoo!" Kadaj yelled at him from the other line. Yazoo didn't know what to tell him, and did what he thought wasn't the smartest idea, but the best one for the current situation.

He hung up the phone.

…..

**A/N: **Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it, special thanks to TIFAAA for giving me like..4 reviews. That was cool, and now I have over 50 reviews and 4300+ hits! Thanks so much guys.


	15. Hiatus

Hey, guys.

I'm so so so so sorry about not updating! I've been going through A LOT (and I mean A LOT) of stuff, so I've been on a kind of hiatus. Not to worry, I'm back on track and should have some stuff posted up soon! Thanks for waiting, and I apologize for the wait! Love you guys!


	16. Finale part A

Alright, guys…I'm really sorry for taking so long to update. No, I'm not dead, but I have serious reasons to why I haven't been updating. They're a little too personal, so let's just get on with the story, shall we? Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own no part of Final Fantasy. It belongs to Square-Enix.

Wrong Turn

Finale part A- Allies

Kadaj would have _killed _Yazoo right about now, had he been there. Here he was, trying to find mother for them, while at the same time looking for his disappearing brother, who _somehow _answers Cloud's phone. What was that about? Was he with Cloud? The question seemed rather obvious, but yet Kadaj couldn't help but deny it.

"_He couldn't be…They're enemies." _Kadaj reminded himself.

Considering they _were _enemies, why was it that Yazoo had answered the phone instead of Cloud? Maybe the blonde had kidnapped him, and forced him to answer it. Or maybe Yazoo took Cloud's phone for his own purposes. Either way, Kadaj was even more upset now. Nobody hangs up on him. _Ever. _Especially his brothers.

"What happened, Kadaj?" Loz asked, completely oblivious to the fact that Kadaj had been glaring at the phone for the last five minutes.

"Go get us a bike, _now!_" Kadaj ordered Loz, ignoring his brother's question.

"Why?" the older one complained, watching his brother walk up the stairs towards the entrance.

"Because I _said _so! Now do it!" Kadaj explained.

"We're not going after Cloud _again_, are we?" the older remnant asked.

"No, Loz.." Kadaj explained through gritted teeth.

"We're going after Yazoo."

---

"Are you sure about this, Tifa?" Cloud asked his friend.

"If I wasn't I wouldn't have done it." Tifa said to him. "They'll look fine on him, Cloud."

For the past 20 minutes, the two of them had been standing outside the bathroom door, waiting for Yazoo to come out. After he had finished with the whole phone situation, he had gone to tell Cloud about it, but was stopped by Tifa, who led him into the blonde's room to give him a wardrobe makeover. They had no idea why he was taking so long, other than the injuries, but they didn't question him. After wearing the same outfit for so long, it would be hard to adjust to a new one, anyways.

There was a small clicking sound as the door to the bathroom opened, and Yazoo stepped out in his new clothes. Instead of his old leather outfit, and leather gloves, he now wore black pants similar to Cloud's, and a fitted Navy blue t-shirt. At least, Yazoo assumed it should have been a fitted t-shirt. It was a little big on him, considering it was Cloud's, but he didn't complain. It was better than what he had been wearing before.

"_Are these the only colors he keeps in his closet?" _Yazoo pondered. He had only ever seen the blonde in these colors, nothing else. Of course, he wasn't including the strange red ribbon he saw on the blonde's arm, just before that explosion happened. Things got out of hand that day. He had really only shot Cloud out of anger. The blonde has basically murdered Kadaj. Who wouldn't be mad if they were in Yazoo's place?

_Kadaj…_

That reminded him of the phone call. He still needed to warn Cloud about it.

"You look great!" Tifa pulled him out of his thoughts. "It's much better than that old leather thing you were wearing before."

The silver-haired man looked up at her and nodded his thanks. He was slowly warming up to her. However, he still didn't understand something.

"Why are you doing all this for me..?" Yazoo questioned her.

Tifa smiled at the sudden question. She looked thoughtful for a moment, before answering.

"Because everybody deserves a second chance. You may have done some terrible things, but anybody can change, right?"

Yazoo tried to think of a decent answer, but once again could only nod in agreement.

"Besides, you're one less person I have to beat up." Cloud added, receiving a smack in the head from Tifa as a result.

"Ow! what'd I do?" he sulked, rubbing the sore spot.

"Be nice, Cloud." Tifa warned him, her tone humorless.

Yazoo tried not to laugh at what he had just seen. Watching your old enemy get struck upside the head for saying rude comments was not something you see everyday. He snickered a little bit, thankful that they had not acknowledged it.

"Listen, Cloud, I have to-" Once again Yazoo's luck was pulled away from him as the sound of a bell downstairs interrupted him, indicating that somebody had entered the bar.

"That must be Reno." Lockheart gasped, dashing towards the stairs, and heading down to greet the red-head.

The silverette could only bare his teeth in anger as Cloud followed her down the stairs. Here he was, trying to tell the blonde important information, while the rest of them might as well have been skipping around in Candy Land, without a single worry.

"_No more interruptions." _He contemplated, following the two of them downstairs.

What he saw when he got down there wasn't the happiest picture for him. The three of them were just standing there, not worrying about a thing. Not to mention that now he had that red-head to add onto his list of people he feels awkward around.

Yazoo walked over to the small circle they had formed. He continued trying to communicate with Cloud, but continued to be talked over.

"_Does nobody care what I have to say?" _the remnant pondered. He had had enough of this. He needed to tell the blonde _now. _There wasn't much time left.

"Will somebody _please _listen to me?!" He shouted, raising his voice after who knows how long.

He finally succeeded in getting everybody's attention, as they all stared at him, shocked. Yazoo let it slide, and decided to ultimately warn them about Kadaj.

"My brother tried to contact you on your cell phone, Cloud." He got to the point. Cloud looked interested, and also confused as to where this was going.

"You answered my phone?" he inquired, making Yazoo pause his explanation.

"I only answered it because you never came to get it. I was going to give you the message after, but when it was Kadaj, I panicked. He didn't sound all that pleased when he found out that it was me who answered the phone." Yazoo confirmed.

"What are you getting at?" Reno entered the conversation.

Yazoo shifted his position to face the Turk, now resuming his explanation.

"What I'm _getting at_" Yazoo mocked "Is that he might come looking for us. If anything, he thinks that Cloud kidnapped me. I'm sure he's already angry with me to begin with. If he discovers that I ran away, there's no telling what he might do."

"_Ran away..is that really what I did? It sounds so childish now that I think aobut it.." _the silverette noticed.

The red-head only snorted at his response. "And how do we know this isn't just some set-up?"

"What are you talking about?" Yazoo asked him

Reno approached Yazoo, anger already rising up in his blood.

"For all we know, you could still be working for Kadaj. I can see it now: we help you out, and protect you, then that freak comes here and before we know it, you're back with him, trying to shoot the life out of us!" The Turk added, shaking his head. "I don't like it."

The newly changed Sephiroth clone froze. Not only did that man just say that he didn't believe him, but he said that he had been working _for_ Kadaj. Did everybody think he was just some tool? To be used and then thrown away when he's not needed?

"_First_ of all," Yazoo pointed a finger at Reno, causing the red-head to step back. "I did not work _for _him, I worked _with _him. Secondly, I'm no longer with him or Loz. You should know that by now. Lastly, don't tell me what I will and will not do! I've had enough of that. I'm not going to kill anybody, so get that in your head!"

The Turk opened his mouth to reply, but never got the chance.

"Reno, just leave him alone." Tifa interrupted. "He doesn't need anymore people nagging on him."

Reno scowled at Yazoo, but did as he was told, and decided to go over to the bar. Yazoo sighed.

"Don't worry about him." Tifa whispered into his ear "He's just too presumptuous for his own good."

Yazoo smiled at her.

"You can go rest if you want. You still look tired." The brunette offered. He nodded once again in response, and went upstairs to sleep.

When Yazoo awoke later, it was almost impossible to see anything. Time had flown by quickly as he slept, and now it was long past dark. All throughout his sleep, he had been subconsciously worrying about that phone call. Just as he was about to get out of bed, a thought occurred to him.

"_Kadaj could be looking for me right now…What if he finds me here, or hurts the others to get to me? I can't let anything happen to them..all they've done to me is help me. I have to stop Kadaj before it's too late." _He decided, and with that, Yazoo sprung out of bed, not even second guessing his suddenly different train of thought.

The long-haired remnant started for the stairs, but stopped in his tracks when another thought came into his head.

"_I can't just leave through the front door. They'll hear me! I feel like some teenager, trying to sneak out of the house..." _Yazoo mentally sighed. He had to find another way out of the house without them knowing about it.

He went back into his room to think, quietly closing the door behind him.

"_If I were a teenager, where would I escape from?" _Yazoo wondered, feeling slightly foolish.

That's when the window came into view. It was perfect! Without a second thought, Yazoo went over to the pane of glass and opened it, taking a quick look around outside to make sure nobody was there. The silverette was about to jump out of the window when he noticed how high it was.

"_Get a hold of yourself, Yazoo! You've jumped down from higher than this. It was a long time ago, but you still did it!" _He had to convince himself. Taking a deep breath and biting his lip, he jumped out of the window, and onto the ground. It was then that he noticed it was pouring rain, and the grass was wet. He slipped on the blades of green, falling face first onto the ground, letting out a whimper of pain. In the middle of getting up, a flashlight was put in his face, causing him to put his hands in from of himself to shield his eyes.

"You?! I thought you were one of your brothers.." he heard a familiar voice sigh. It was that Reno guy again.

"Oh…Out of luck then. I bet you're just dying to kill us all as soon as you can." The remnant said, getting up and walking towards the street.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

"That's none of your business…" Yazoo replied, and continued walking, before Reno grabbed his arm.

"Well I'm making it mine. Now tell me where you're going!" Reno exclaimed, already losing his patience.

"Why? Are you…concerned?" the remnant asked, a playful smirk on his face. Reno was taken aback from that comment. He had never expected Yazoo to say something like that. He struggled to find words.

"W-what?! No! I couldn't care less about what happens to you! Tifa sent me out here on watch duty to make sure none of the freaks like you show up, and if you leave, they'll blame me!" he explained.

"I see…Well, maybe I'm going to look for those "freaks like me". Did you ever think of that?" Yazoo told him.

"What? Why would you go looking for them if they want you dead?" The Turk questioned.

Yazoo sighed, and told him straight out. "Because I know they're looking for me to get to Cloud. If I get to them first, I may be able to stop them from finding all of you."

Reno stared at him for a few moments in awe. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. Yazoo was trying to…save them? No way.

"I don't trust it." Reno said.

"Why? Do you think I'm joining them?" Yazoo said. "Typical."

"Not _just _that. If you get hurt, and Cloud or Tifa find out, they'd kill me. The whole reason I'm out here is to make sure nothing bad happens! If you go after them you'll get killed!" Reno explained to Yazoo.

"Better me than all of you…" Yazoo spat the words, before pulling away from him, the both of them now soaked to the bone from the water falling from the sky. He went onto the street, and headed towards the forest.

Reno froze. He didn't understand how somebody like Yazoo could suddenly be flooded with all of these emotions, and all of this concern. It was too odd. He needed to find out more.

"_I can't believe I'm doing this, but…"_ Without delay, Reno ran after him to catch up, his feet landing in a puddle, causing some of the clear liquid to stick to his pants, wetting them even more.

"What are you talking about?!" he cried at Yazoo, catching up to him. "If I knew any better, I'd say it was _you _who was concerned!"

"Leave me alone.." Yazoo spoke softly.

"No way. Not until you tell me what's going on." The Turk kept prying for answers.

"I _said _leave me alone." The one in Cloud's old clothes spoke, raising his voice.

"Why? I'm not letting you get killed by those freaks! And what's with the sudden change of heart, yo? All of a sudden you want to save us all, when a few days ago, you wanted us dead!"

"_Get out of here_!" Yazoo yelled at him, making Reno freeze in his tracks.

Reno sighed. "Look, yo…I'm just trying to help. People like you don't just suddenly change their mind about their enemies. What's the big deal?"

Yazoo grieved, putting a hand onto his forehead, and turned to keep walking, but paused. He had to let it out. Something inside him was telling him to.

"I'm tired of being a burden to you all. I was so cruel to all of you, and yet you helped me. I don't deserve to be treated so nicely after all the dreadful things I've done…" He admitted. "I'm going to return the favor to you all. It's the least I could do." Yazoo didn't expect any response, but got the complete opposite.

"Not alone, you're not." Reno declared. Yazoo turned to face him, puzzled.

"What?" he asked.

"I'm serious. I want a piece of those guys, too! Besides, I wouldn't want somebody like you getting hurt. Not saying we're friends or anything, but it's a start." The red-haired Turk told him, smirking. Yazoo stared blankly at him.

"Well, then. What are we waiting for?" Reno spoke again, walking off. "Let's go kick some ass! Oh, and by the way…I still don't trust this."

Yazoo hesitated, but nodded, and followed after him, smiling at his remark.

"_Maybe he isn't so bad after all…"_

_-----_

Alright, so thank god I finally finished a chapter for you guys, eh? What's it been..like five or six months? Sorry! And I apologize if it's not what you expected; Once again I winged about 80% of it. Anyways, I should have the last part up soon (Promise!). Thanks for being so patient, and thank you very much to everybody who has reviewed, alerted or added this to their favorites thus far; it really makes me happy to know so many people like the story. R&R!


	17. Finale Part B

Wow, I REALLY need to stop doing this to you guys. I'm not gonna bother writing out my excuses again, but I do apologize once again for taking so long!

Disclaimer: I own no part of Final Fantasy. It belongs to Square-Enix.

Wrong Turn

Finale part B- Sitting in the rain

Yazoo knew exactly where he was going. Whenever he and his brothers had been out searching for something, or even someone, the three of them had always taken a certain path through a ghostly forest. If Yazoo was to be perfectly honest, he didn't see the point in taking this route, but it did enable them to catch Cloud a week or so ago. At least it felt like a week ago, but he didn't remember exactly how long it had been. Everything had been such a blur lately. A blur, but certainly not a bore. The events that had been taking place would be the few that he would actually remember. His life had changed, and all because of a certain chocobo-haired man. His heart was now filled with patience, warmth, and friendship.

"_Friendship…Is that what it is?" _Yazoo thought to himself. It was such a strong and unfamilliar word, but it was the only one he could think of to describe his newly-found relationship with Cloud and the others.

"Hey, Whitey, Where the hell are we going?" Reno asked him, trailing a little behind due to boredom. Grimacing at the nickname, the newly-changed man replied.

"If you would just be patient, you'll see soon enough."

"I didn't come with you to take a stroll in the rain. Where're your brothers?!" Reno kept complaining. Yazoo gave a sigh of annoyance. How Strife had put up with this man for so long, he couldn't even begin to imagine. Ever since they started walking, all Reno had been doing was complaining and asking questions.

"If you would _open your eyes_ more, you would see exactly where we are. It should answer all of your incessant questions." Yazoo snapped.

The Turk sounded confused, but then, as Yazoo had suggested, he took a better look at his surroundings. Almost immediately after noticing where they now were, he gasped for breath.

"Why are we _here_? You trying to freak me out or something?!" Reno raised his voice.

"No, I'm not trying to "freak you out". There would really be no purpose to that as you seem to already be frightened enough." Yazoo gave him a playful smirk, causing Reno to glare. The remnant continued.

"We're here because I know that my brothers will come through this forest. This is where we would always come when traveling by foot."

"What makes you so sure they'll come through here this time?" The Turk continued to question. Yazoo took a minute to reply, as he pushed a bush aside, revealing an all too familiar place for both himself and Reno. This place where all of the recent trouble began. The simple dead-end with a rocky wall that would be simple enough to climb if you were careful. Reno's eyes widened as the memories came back to him, sticking to his thoughts like a moth to a flame.

"This is where you guys took Cloud... isn't it?" Reno asked, his voice loweing as the thoughts of what his friend had been through became all too graphic. Yazoo looked back at Reno once again, before walking over to a rock and sitting down on it. Reno went over and joined him.

"And you're _really _sure about this? That they'll come?" the red-head continued to interrogate Yazoo. Yazoo looked up at the dark and cloudy sky. His hair fell off of his shoulders, now sitting beautifully on his back. The rain still coming from the sky gently fell onto his pale visage, leaving streaks of water as it slid down his seemingly flawless face. He closed his eyes for a moment, letting the cool water fall on face, before replying to Reno.

"Yes." He confirmed. "I'm almost certain that they'll show up here. Now all we have to do is wait and see."

"Yeah, easy for you to say." The Turk muttered, leaning back against more rocks.

"_Please don't let me be wrong..." _Yazoo kept worrying. "_Please don't let them get to Cloud and his friends...my friends..."_

Yazoo was right. They were_ his_ friends now, too. And if they all got out of this alive, then he would be sure to keep it that way.

----

Yeah, so this is just kind of a filler chapter, but I'm planning on writing the next (and last one) sometime today. I keep saying that this'll be one of the last chapters, but we'll see. And for those who haven't heard about it yet, there _will _be a sequel sometime after this is finished. Thanks for reading, R&R!


	18. Hiatus My apologies

Alright, so let's clear some things up, shall we? I'm still not dead, but I've been so caught up in other affairs that I truly haven't had the time to plot the final chapter of this. I started this story in grade nine (almost three years ago) and so my priorities have changed.

Hey, hey! That's definitely not to say that I'm not writing any more. It's still one of my favorite past times, but I just haven't had the time or motivation to chip away at any of my fics recently. I hope those of you who still want to read this can forgive me! I've been through a lot, what with being diagnosed with a severe mental disorder and my Grand-Dad passing away. My Grandma's not doing so well now, either, so you can imagine what that's like. My mom's dealing with depression, my brother's never home, I'm nearing the end of high school, and so on. The list goes on and on, but as you can tell, life is my main priority right now. I guarantee that the last chapter of this will be worth the wait and is on its way. There _will _be a sequel at some point.

Thanks for understanding, and I apologize for the inconvenience. Hope I have not upset anybody.

'Till then,

**DreamlessRiver**


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